Tempo table

Termbpm
Larghissimo≤ 24
Grave25 - 45
Largo40 - 60
Lento45 - 60
Larghetto60 - 66
Adagio66 - 76
Andante76 - 108
Andantino80 - 108
Marcia moderato83 - 85
Andante moderato92 - 112
Moderato108 - 120
Allegretto112 - 120
Allegro moderato116 - 120
Allegro120 - 156
Vivace156 - 176
Vivacissimo172 - 176
Allegrissimo/Allegro vivace172 - 176
Presto168 - 200
Prestissimo≥ 200

Tempo is the speed of a composition or some of its parts. It gives us an understanding of how fast we need to play a particular piece of music. We find these instructions above the musical staff. But the problem is that the tempo can be marked differently.

A metronome mark in beats per minute, bpm, indicates the precise tempo. The indication includes the value of a musical note and the number of oscillations of the pendulum. The given musical note lasts for the given part of one minute.

Tempo marks are Italian terms. Their literal translations tell that a piece of music is slow or moderate, quick or very fast. These marks are not concrete. However, we have an approximate range of bpm for each term.