Frans Absil - Tempo indications

http://www.fransabsil.nl/htm/tempotab.htm[23.10.2009 11:36:55]
Tempo I ndi cat i ons and Met r onome Mar ki ngs
This page presents an overview of classical music tempo indications in Italian,
English, French and German, with rough metronome markings (M.M. =Maelzel's
Metronome =BPM =Beats Per Minute) in the left column.
Also, for a number of popular music styles (ballroom dancing, Latin-American
music, Brasilian, etc.), meter and typical metronome marking ranges are listed.
Find a number of reference sources at the bottom of the page.
Go to top of table with style and tempo indications >>
Go to list with reference sources >>

FRANS ABSIL - Tempo Indications
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Table of tempo indications ( Classical music)
M.M. I t al i an Engl i sh Fr enc h Ger man
40 Larghissimo
Extremely slow Trs lent Sehr langsam, Ganz langsam Adagissimo
Lentissimo
Largo
Very slow Lent, Large Langsam, Breit Adagio
Lento
Larghetto
Rather slow Un peu lent Etwas langsam
Adagietto
60 Andante
Moderately slow Allant, Trs modr Mssig langsam, Gehend
Andantino
Moderato Moderately Modr Mssig, Mssig bewegt
Allegretto Rather fast Un peu anim Etwas bewegt
120 Allegro Fast, Quick Anim Bewegt, Schnell
Vivace
Quite fast Vif, Vite Lebhaft, Eilig Vivo
Presto
208 Allegrissimo
Very fast Trs vif Ganz schnell, Ganz lebhaft Vivacissimo
Prestissimo
Style and tempo indications ( Popular music)
Since various sources were consulted, there may be multiple range entries in the table. Typical values
for international dance contests are indicated between brackets.
St yl e Met er M.M. Comment
Bal l r oom danc i ng
Slow Waltz 3/4 87-102 (90) 30 bars/min
English Waltz 3/4 90-100 30 bars/min. Andante
Vienna Waltz 3/4 180, 192 60 bars/min. Presto
Slow Fox 4/4
112-136, 72-120
(120)
30 bars/min. Slow Foxtrott
Quickstep 2/2 80-104, 96-104 (106) 52 bars/min. Fast Foxtrott
Charleston/Dixieland 2/2 108 54 bars/min
Boogie Woogie/Rock'n Roll
Frans Absil - Tempo indications
http://www.fransabsil.nl/htm/tempotab.htm[23.10.2009 11:36:55]
Shuffle
4/4, 2/2 160-200 40 bars/min. Allegro - Prestissimo
Straight Rock'n Roll 4/4 160-172 40 bars/min
Twist 4/4 160-168 40 bars/min
Slow-Rock/Rock-Blues 6/8 60-72 30 bars/min. Adagio
Polka 2/4 120 60 bars/min. Moderato, Allegro
March 4/4 120-124 30 bars/min. Allegro
Tango 4/4 120-136 (132) 33 bars/min
Pasodoble 2/4 120-124 60 bars/min
Samba 2/2
100-116, 112-116
(100, 104)
50 bars/min
Bossa Nova 4/4 120-160 (120) 30 bars/min
Beguine 4/4 112 28 bars/min
Cha-Cha-Cha 4/4
128-144, 126-136
(128, 144)
32 bars/min. Allegro
Rumba 4/4
100-128, 112-120
(100, 108)
27 bars/min
Mambo 2/2 112-120 (120) 30 bars/min
Bolero 4/4 116 29 bars/min
Bolero Cubano 4/4 84-112 21 bars/min. Andante
Calypso 4/4 112 28 bars/min
Merengue 2/2 116 29 bars/min
Paso Doble 2/4 116-124 (124) 62 bars/min
J ive 4/4 128-168 (168) 42 bars/min
Lat i n / Af r o-Cuban Rhyt hms
Mambo 2/2 86-102 Derived from Son Cubano
Afro-Cuban, Bembe,
Nanigo
6/8 76-102, 108-132 African religious origin, polyrhythmical
Guaracha 2/2 86-94 Fast Cuban dance
Guajira 4/4 114-128 Moderate to medium song and dance form
Guaguanc 2/2 94-122 Derived from Afro-Cuban Rumba. Moderate to fast
Conga, Comparsa 2/2 116-126 Derived from Contredanza Cubana. Fast, lively.
Mozambique 2/2 70-118 Derived from Conga. Cuban carnival dance. Fast
Bolero 4/4 98-106 Spanish origin. Slow
Cha-Cha-Cha 4/4 88-132 Derived from the Danzn. Medium tempo
Songo 2/2 100-128, 96-126 Modern style (1970s) with strong focus on percussion
Lat i n / Car i bbean Rhyt hms
Merengue 2/2 112-122 (116)
Song and dance style from Dominican Republic, Haiti.
Fast, expressive
Cumbia 4/4 82-96
Song and dance style originating from Columbia,
popular in Mexico.
Calypso 2/2 96-114 (112)
Folk song style from Trinidad and Tobago. Moderately
fast
Soca 4/4 104-132 Derived from the Calypso in the 1970s.
Ska 4/4 60-86
Originated in the 1950s in J amaica, predecessor to the
Reggae
Reggae 4/4 72-108 Originating in the 1960s in J amaica.
Br asi l i an Rhyt hms
Samba 2/2 88-102 (104) Round dance, Carnival music
Samba Batucada 2/2 108-126 Percussion only, Carnival music
Bossa Nova 4/4 96-138 (120) Originated in the 1950s. Cool and light
Baiao 2/2 102-112 Originated in the 1940s
Maracatu 2/2 76-86 Procession-like, ritual dance. Slow
Afox 2/2 102-108 Originated in the Yoruba religion
Caterete 2/2 94-108 Related to the Baiao rhythm.
Frans Absil - Tempo indications
http://www.fransabsil.nl/htm/tempotab.htm[23.10.2009 11:36:55]
F.G.J . Absil
Frevo 2/2 120-136 Derived from the Samba. Fast
Pr e-Cl assi c Bal l et Danc es
Pavane 4/4, 2/2 Slow, stately
Galliard 3/4 Lively
Allemande 4/4 Folk, country dance, lively
Courante 3/4 Court dance
Sarabande 3/4 Court dance, slow and processional
Gigue 6/8 Lively
Minuet 3/4 Court dance, moderato
Gavotte 2/2 Peasant dance, moved to the court. Allegro vivace
Bourree 4/4 Peasant dance, allegro
Rigaudon 2/2 Allegro
Passepied 3/8 Vivace
Chaconne and Passacaglia 3/4 Spanish orign, slow and solemn, moderato
Loure 6/4 Slow gigue
(St yl e) (Met er ) (M.M.) (Comment )
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Sequencer tickmarks and durations
The table below gives only a very limited set of durations. For an interactive page with many more
tempo selection options, see the Note and Sequencer Tick Timing GUI tool on this website.
Sequenc er Dur at i on [ s]
Not e Ti c k s
40
BPM
60
BPM
80
BPM
90
BPM
120
BPM
160
BPM
180
BPM
200
BPM
240
BPM
1 3840 6.0 4.0 3.0 2.667 2.0 1.5 1.333 1.2 1.0
1/2 1920 3.0 2.0 1.5 1.333 1.0 0.75 0.667 0.6 0.5
1/4 960 1.5 1.0 0.75 0.667 0.5 0.375 0.333 0.3 0.25
1/8 480 0.75 0.5 0.375 0.333 0.25 0.1875 0.1667 0.15 0.125
1/16 240 0.375 0.25 0.1875 0.1667 0.125 0.09375 0.08333 0.075 0.0625
1/32 120 0.1875 0.125 0.09375 0.08333 0.0625 0.04686 0.04166 0.0375 0.03125
1/64 60 0.09375 0.0625 0.04686 0.04166 0.03125 0.02343 0.02083 0.01875 0.01563
1/128 30 0.04686 0.03125 0.02343 0.02083 0.01563 0.01171 0.01042 0.00938 0.00782
1/256 15 0.02343 0.01563 0.01171 0.01042 0.00782 0.00586 0.00521 0.00469 0.00391
Reference sources
Here's a list of reference sources:
Dirk Brand, 1000 Faces of Drum Styles, (in German) AMG Verlag GmbH, Brhl, ISBN 3-927190-
93-4 (1997).
Sem Dresden, Algemene Muziekleer, 12de druk (in Dutch) Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen, the
Netherlands (1972).
Siegfried Hofmann, Das groe Buch fr Schlagzeug und Percussion, (in German) Voggenreiter
Verlag, Bonn, ISBN 3-8024-0221-9 (1994).
Alfred Pfortner, Der Einsatz lateinamerikanischer Rhythmusinstrumente in Big Band und
Blasorchester, (in German) J oh. Siebenhner Musikverlag, Mrfelden.
Kleon Raptakis, The Complete Book of the World's Dance Rhythms, Kleon Raptakis Publications,
Astoria, NY.
Gardner Read, Music Notation, A Manual of Modern Practice, Victor Gollancz Ltd., London
(1985).
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