tempo

«tempo» in Mova's school dictionary: the speed of a piece of music: fast, slow or in between — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a tempo, tempos or tempi)

meaning for a pupil

1) (music) The tempo is the speed of a piece of music: fast, slow or in between. tree →

2) Tempo is the speed or pace at which something happens, like the tempo of a game or of life in a city. tree →

sense in the lessons

In music lessons, pupils learn tempo as one of the elements of music, with Italian words like allegro (fast), andante (walking pace) and largo (slow), and count beats per minute with a metronome. In sport, a team «raises the tempo» by playing faster. Phrases: «a fast tempo», «change of tempo», «up-tempo».

examples

• The song has a fast tempo. tree →
• We clapped along to keep the tempo. tree →
• The conductor set a slow tempo for the lullaby. tree →
• A metronome helps you keep a steady tempo. tree →
• The team raised the tempo in the second half. tree →
• Life in the city moves at a quick tempo. tree →

note

Plural: «tempos» in everyday English, «tempi» in music books (Italian plural). Tempo is speed; «rhythm» is the pattern of long and short sounds; «pitch» is how high or low.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «tempo» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.