In music, speed is referred to as tempo. A tempo marking is usually given at the beginning of a piece.

Many musical terms are in Italian because it was mainly Italian composers - such as Vivaldi, Monteverdi, da Palestrina, and Gabrieli - who invented musical notation as we know it today:

You only need to remember the four tempos below for your exam:

• Adagio - slow
• Andante - a walking pace
• Moderato - moderately
• Allegro - quick and lively

Change of tempo

Sometimes a piece of music changes tempo. The following words can be used to describe tempo changes:

• Accelerando - getting faster
• Rallentando - slowing down, normally for emphasis
• Ritardando - slowing down, holding back
• A tempo - return to the original tempo after speeding up or slowing down