"the actual number of beats per minute in a piece marked allergro (for example),
will depend on the music itself.
A piece consisting mainly of 'half notes' can be played very much quicker in
terms of bpm than a piece consisting mainly of 'sixteenth notes',
but still be described with the same word."
| Beats/minute | marking | description |
| 20 | Larghissimo/td> | very, very slow (20 bpm and below) |
| 40 | Grave/td> | slow and solemn (20-40 bpm) |
| 50 | Lento/td> | very slow (40-60 bpm) |
| 60 | Largo/td> | very slow (40-60 bpm), like lento |
| 65 | Larghetto | rather broadly (60-66 bpm) |
| 76 | Adagio | slowly |
| 80 | Andante | at a walking pace |
| 90 | Andante Moderato | a bit faster than andante |
| 100 | Andantino | slightly faster than andante |
| 105 | Moderato | moderately (101-110 bpm) |
| 110 | Allegretto | moderately fast (but less so than allegro) |
| 120 | Allegro moderato | moderately quick (112-124 bpm) |
| 130 | Allegro | fast, quickly and bright (120-139 bpm) |
| 140 | Vivace | lively and fast (~140 bpm) (quicker than allegro) |
| 150 | Vivacissimo | very fast and lively |
| 160 | Allegrissimo | very fast |
| 180 | Presto | very fast (168-200 bpm) |
| 220 | Prestissimo | extremely fast (more than 200bpm) |