Okuzeka
Music vocabulary · Rhythm, Meter and Tempo

Tempo

Meaning in music, with examples

/ˈtempoʊ/nounCore term

In music, tempo means: The 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).

In Turkish: tempo, hız

How it is used

Conductors, drummers and producers use it constantly. You set, keep, speed up or slow down the tempo; a performance can be 'in tempo' or 'out of tempo'. The plural is 'tempos' in everyday English and 'tempi' in classical writing.

Example sentences

  1. Let's take the bridge at a slower tempo and then build back up.

  2. The tempo is marked as 96 BPM, but the band always rushes on stage.

Common collocations

  • set the tempo
  • keep the tempo
  • change of tempo
  • tempo marking
  • up-tempo
  • BPMShort for beats per minute: the number of beats in one minute, used to measure tempo. A slow ballad might be around 70 BPM and a dance track around 125 BPM.
  • metronomeA device or app that clicks at a steady, adjustable speed so that musicians can practise keeping an even tempo.
  • beatThe steady pulse that you tap your foot to in a piece of music. Beats are grouped into bars, and their speed is the tempo.
  • rhythmThe pattern of long and short sounds and silences in music, and how they are placed in time against the beat.
  • click trackA metronome sound that musicians hear in their headphones or in-ear monitors while recording or performing, so that everyone stays at exactly the same tempo.

More terms: Rhythm, Meter and Tempo

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: