Which term indicates a tempo change toward faster speed in a performance?

Which term indicates a tempo change toward faster speed in a performance?

• A. Accelerando
• B. Ritardando
• C. Rallentando
• D. Rubato

Answer: (A)

Accelerando indicates gradually increasing tempo—the music speeds up as you continue. This direction builds momentum and energy toward a climactic moment, and it’s often marked with accel. or with hairpins that open to the right to show speeding up. Ritardando and rallentando both call for slowing down, with ritardando being a gradual decrease and rallentando a broader, often more pronounced slow-down. Rubato allows flexible timing for expressive effect rather than a fixed tempo. So, when the goal is a tempo change toward faster speed, accelerando is the appropriate term.

Accelerando indicates gradually increasing tempo—the music speeds up as you continue. This direction builds momentum and energy toward a climactic moment, and it’s often marked with accel. or with hairpins that open to the right to show speeding up. Ritardando and rallentando both call for slowing down, with ritardando being a gradual decrease and rallentando a broader, often more pronounced slow-down. Rubato allows flexible timing for expressive effect rather than a fixed tempo. So, when the goal is a tempo change toward faster speed, accelerando is the appropriate term.