Pulse, beat and tempo – free music theory course

When you tap your foot while listening to a song, you are following its pulse: a series of regular beats, like a heartbeat. Each pulse is called a beat. All rhythmic music is organised around this invisible grid: notes can last several beats or slip in between beats, but the pulse itself stays steady.

Tempo

Tempo is the speed of the pulse. It is measured in beats per minute (BPM). A metronome marking such as ♩ = 60 means sixty quarter notes per minute, one per second. ♩ = 120 is twice as fast.

Try the metronome: set it to 60, then 90, then 120, and clap along.

Now listen to Au clair de la lune, a French nursery tune. Count "1, 2, 3, 4" aloud along with it: each quarter note lasts one beat, each half note two, the final whole note four.

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=80
K:C
C C C D | E2 D2 | C E D D | C4 |]
w: 1 2 3 4 1 3 1 2 3 4 1

The main tempo markings

Since the 17th century composers have indicated tempo with Italian words, understood all over the world:

Term	Meaning	Approx. BPM
Largo	broad, very slow	40–60
Adagio	slow, at ease	55–75
Andante	at a walking pace	75–100
Moderato	moderate	95–115
Allegro	cheerful, fast	115–150
Presto	very fast	165–200

To change the tempo along the way: ritardando (rit.) or rallentando (rall.) = gradually slowing down; accelerando (accel.) = speeding up; a tempo = back to the original tempo; rubato = flexibly, "stealing" a little time here and giving it back there. The "Expression" chapter has a full glossary.

Practice advice: the metronome is not your enemy. Work a hard passage slowly with it (say at 60), and only add 4 to 8 BPM at a time once it is perfectly even. Speed comes by itself; evenness does not.

Common mistake: rushing the easy passages and slowing down in the hard ones. Listeners immediately hear an unsteady pulse. Record yourself: it is the best teacher there is.