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Tempo

Tempo refers to the rate of speed of the beat.  The commonly used terms to denote tempo are Italian.  In large compositions such as concertos and symphonies, individual sections (called movements) are often titled by the tempos marking given in the score by the composer.  If you attend an orchestra concert you can observe this in the written program.

The most frequently used terms encountered in music literature are listed here, from slowest to fastest.

Italian term   Definition                 largo   very slow       lento   slow       adagio   leisurely slow       andante   a walking pace       moderato   moderate       allegretto   moderately fast       allegro   fast       presto   very fast       prestissimo   very, very fast       ritardando   gradually slowing down         accelerando   gradually speeding up

The metronome (made popular by Johannes N. Maelzel in the early 1800s) is a device that can be adjusted to produce the desired number of beats per minute.  For example, a composer can specify that the quarter note should be played at 84 per minute by showing M.M. = 84 in the score.  Obviously, the higher the number, the faster the tempo; conversely, the lower the number, the slower the tempo.