''Tempo giusto'' () is a musical term that literally means 'in exact time', often directing a return to strict time following a period of

rubato Tempo rubato (, , ; 'free in the presentation', literally ) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Ru ...

. It most commonly indicates a return to the main tempo after a temporary change (e.g. a

rallentando In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

).David Fallows. 'Tempo giusto' in Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Accessed 20 Feb 2015.

General

In the 17th and 18th centuries ( Baroque and early Classical), ''tempo giusto'' referred to the idea that each

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

has its own 'ideal' tempo; this was also referred to as ''tempo ordinario'' (ordinary time). The larger the beat value of the meter, the slower the tempo. Therefore, meters with beat values of a minim/half note (e.g. , ) should be performed with a slow tempo; those with quaver/eighth note beats (e.g. ) are fast; while those with crotchet/quarter note beats (e.g. , , ) are performed at a moderate or middling tempo. This convention started in Italy in the 1600s (

seicento The Seicento (, ) is Italian history and culture during the 17th century. The Seicento saw the end of the Renaissance movement in Italy and the beginning of the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque era. The word means "six hundred" (''sei'' = si ...

), and continued in Germany in the 1700s, as theorized by

Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (21 November 1718 – 22 May 1795) was a German music critic, music theorist and composer. He was friendly and active with many figures of the Enlightenment of the 18th century. Life Little is known of Marpurg's ear ...

(1755) and Johann Kirnberger (1776; see sequel): Conventions existed for what the "correct" tempo for a particular style was, notably detailed for French dances in Michel L'Affilard (1691–1717). The composer and music theorist Johann Kirnberger (1776) formalized and refined this idea by instructing the performer to consider the following details in combination when determining the best performance tempo of a piece: the tempo giusto of the meter, the tempo term ('' Allegro'', ''

Adagio Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to: Music * Adagio, a tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner * Adagio (band), a French progressive metal band Albums * ''Adagi ...

'', etc., if there is one, at the start of the piece), the particular rhythms in the piece (taking account of the longest and shortest notes), the 'character' of the piece, and the piece's genre (whether it was a

minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that accomp ...

, sarabande,

gigue The gigue (; ) or giga () is a lively baroque dance originating from the English jig. It was imported into France in the mid-17th centuryBellingham, Jane"gigue."''The Oxford Companion to Music''. Ed. Alison Latham. Oxford Music Online. 6 July 20 ...

, etc.). In this way, an experienced musician could rely on his/her (informed) intuition to find the 'right' tempo. Occasionally, a composer will mark a piece ''tempo giusto'' to request the performer to use his/her experience in this way: that is, to intuit the correct tempo from the structure and nature of the piece itself. From the mid-18th century, the notion of each meter having an 'ideal tempo' fell out of fashion, as composers started preferring to indicate tempo with tempo terms and (later, in the nineteenth century) with metronome markings.

Life Movement

The term has given rise to a whole life movement, which advises the modern world to stop plowing through life at breakneck speed, and to start living instead at the “right tempo." Man is told to live in accordance with his own inner tempo. The artistic director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro John DeMain, has said, “ w that I think about it, the idea of tempo giusto describes just about everything I do or aspire to."Anderson, Jess. "John DeMain: In Search of Tempo Giusto." ''Madison Magazine, August 2001.'' http://www.madisonmusicreviews.org/doc/p_200108_demain.html

General

Life Movement

References

See also