{"id":16742,"date":"2022-06-28T16:15:46","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=168420"},"modified":"2022-06-28T16:34:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:34:13","slug":"what-is-a-moderato","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/what-is-a-moderato\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a moderato?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By BBC Music Magazine\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 28 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Different pieces of music are composed with different tempos (or speeds) in mind, and moderato (meaning \u2018moderate\u2019 or \u2018medium\u2019) is right at the centre of all of them. A little faster than andante (described as walking pace) but not as fast as allegro (usually described as fast and merry), moderato has a nice, steady tempo.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tempos are measured in beats per minute (BPM) and indicate how quickly or slowly a piece of music should be played. Moderato typically falls between 108-120 BPM on a metronome. Sometimes the exact BPM is included on a score \u2013 for example, you might see the word moderato followed by a note symbol and then \u2018= 120\u2019.<\/p>\n

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Examples of moderato music<\/strong><\/p>\n

Classical pieces played with a moderato tempo include Bach\u2019s Jesu, Joy of Man\u2019s Desiring; Tchaikovsky\u2019s Chant de l\u2019Alouette (Song of the Lark), and the Minuet from Mozart\u2019s Don Giovanni. Listening to these should give you a good idea of what a moderato tempo sounds like.<\/p>\n