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Music vocabulary · Rhythm, Meter and Tempo

Ritardando

Meaning in music, with examples

adverbCommon term

In music, ritardando means: A direction to reduce the tempo gradually, often used to broaden a phrase ending or prepare a closing section.

In Turkish: yavaşlayarak, giderek yavaşlayarak

How it is used

Often abbreviated rit. or ritard. in written music. Players follow the conductor or agree on the length and depth of the slowdown.

Example sentences

  1. Save the ritardando for the last two bars instead of slowing down too early.

    The instruction limits the slowdown to the closing bars of the phrase.

  2. The choir watched the conductor closely during the ritardando before the final chord.

    Shared visual guidance helps the singers lengthen the timing together.

Common collocations

  • gradual ritardando
  • final ritardando
  • marked ritardando
  • tempoThe speed of a piece of music, usually measured in beats per minute (BPM) or shown with Italian words such as allegro (fast) or adagio (slow).
  • conductorThe person who leads an orchestra or choir, setting the tempo, showing entries and shaping the performance with hand movements or a baton.
  • cadenceA pair of chords that ends a musical phrase or section, giving a sense of rest or of a pause, like punctuation in a sentence.

More terms: Rhythm, Meter and Tempo

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