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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Adagio is an Italian tempo direction that tells performers to play slowly and unhurriedly. The word can also name a slow movement inside a larger work, or a complete piece written at that pace. The term describes the character of the pace rather than fixing an exact speed.
What adagio means on a score
When adagio appears in a score, it is a performance direction placed at the start of a movement or section. Cambridge English Dictionary describes it as a written musical direction telling a performer to play a piece or section slowly. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries entry gives the same core sense, defining the musical noun as a piece to be played slowly.
Because adagio sets a general character, it tells the performer how the music should feel: calm, spacious and unhurried. It does not function as a metronome setting. A performer reads it together with the notes, the phrasing and any other markings on the page.
Adagio as a noun: movements and complete pieces
Adagio is also used as a noun. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica entry notes that the word can refer to the slow movement of a sonata or symphony, or to an independent piece. The OnMusic Dictionary gives the same two senses: the tempo marking, and a composition written in adagio tempo.
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In practice, when someone says “an adagio,” they may mean a slow movement inside a larger work or a standalone composition. Context usually makes the meaning clear.
Where the word comes from
The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries traces the word to the Italian phrase ad agio, meaning “at ease.” Treccani’s Enciclopedia Italiana (1929) describes an early sense of the word as “with ease.” According to the same historical account, the meaning narrowed toward tempo during the eighteenth century. That source is a historical account of the term’s development, not a statement of a current performance standard.
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How slow is adagio?
The most useful answer is comparative. The Académie française’s ninth-edition dictionary (2024) places adagio slower than andante and less slow than largo. Its French wording is “Plus lentement qu’andante, moins lentement que largo,” which translates as “Slower than andante, less slow than largo.”
Other historical references show that the order of slow markings has not always been agreed. A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, an older reference work, warns that authorities have disagreed about the relative speeds of grave, largo and adagio. The table below summarises what the sources cited here support.
| Marking | Position relative to adagio | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Andante | Adagio is slower than andante | Académie française, ninth edition (2024) |
| Largo | Adagio is faster than largo | Académie française, ninth edition (2024) |
| Grave | Historical authorities disagreed about how grave ranks against largo and adagio | A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (older reference work) |
No universal beats-per-minute range for adagio is established by these sources. Treat any claim that adagio always equals a specific metronome number as unsupported.
Reading adagio in a score
- Look for a metronome marking first. If the score gives a beats-per-minute figure, that score-specific instruction takes precedence over the word.
- If there is no metronome marking, compare adagio with neighbouring words on the page. A passage marked adagio should be slower than an andante section, and faster than a largo section.
- Let the phrasing and the surrounding music guide the final pace, since the word alone does not set a single speed.
A listening example: Barber’s Adagio for Strings
The best-known example is Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. OnMusic cites it as a composition in adagio tempo. Here the word “Adagio” is part of a title, which is different from the tempo direction that appears on many other scores.
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Readers who want to play or study the work will need a printed score or arrangement matched to their instrument and skill level. The sources cited here do not verify a particular edition.
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