Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today we are going to discuss whether or not you should follow metronome markings in your scores. I’ve had students say to me, “I’m really trying to get this piece up to speed, and the tempo marked in the score is 160. I just can’t get anywhere close to that!” They’re beating themselves up, wondering how they can get it up to that speed. There’s a lot to this subject. I’m going to enlighten you about these metronome markings in scores. But first, I want to show you something that will shed some light on this whole subject.
How fast is Allegro?
I have my metronome here, and there’s a whole range of tempos marked “Allegro”. The very slowest Allegro is 126. That seems fine, but there’s a whole range of Allegro. 126 is the lowest setting that’s marked as Allegro on the metronome. 144 is right in the middle of what that’s marked as Allegro. At this speed, I think some pieces lose their elegance. But here’s what’s really crazy: according to this metronome, 168 is at the top range of Allegro. That is a much faster tempo than what you would generally consider to be Allegro. So that’s not much help, is it?
Are metronome markings in the score written by the composer?
You have a piece of music with a tempo marking. Did the composer put that in there? No. Composers almost never put metronome indications in scores. These are the editor’s suggestions that are put in the score. If you look at different editions, there can be drastically different metronome markings in the scores. So you really can’t go by metronome markings. I say ignore them! They are not of any value. They may or may not have anything to do with musical sensibilities.
If you really want to get a sense of what tempo is appropriate for a piece of music, listen to recordings.
Go on YouTube or Spotify and listen to great pianists playing the piece. Get a feel for the range of tempos. But sometimes you will find different pianists will play the same piece at drastically different tempos. For example, the Rondo alla turca movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 11. Listen to Lang Lang play it, then listen to Glenn Gould play it. These are two noted concert pianists, and they are so drastically different in their tempos. You won’t even believe how different they are! So artists have very different ideas about tempo, but at least you get a range for what most people play.
Does that mean you have to play it at that speed?
Not necessarily. You might be able to make a convincing case for a drastically different tempo, as is the case in these performances by Glenn Gould and Lang Lang, who chose drastically different tempos than almost everyone else for that same movement. But you should know when you’re going against the grain because you’ll have a frame of reference. Listeners are used to a certain tempos for pieces, and if you’re drastically different one way or the other, that’s going to be a little bit startling for them. You have to have real conviction if you’re going to do that. And if you’re a student, you want to try to play somewhere in the range of what most people are playing to get a feel for what is musically accepted. Although, to be fair, what is considered appropriate tempo today is different from what it was in the early 20th century. A lot of players played faster back then than they do today. So these are stylistic norms that come and go. But knowing what tempo other players use is a good guide for you. The tempo markings written in the score should be ignored! They are most often not of any value.
I have an interesting story for you about this.
When my wife was going to music conservatory, she was working on a piece. It was a new piece with percussion, flute, and piccolo. The composer wrote metronome markings in it. So in this case, it wasn’t an editor; it was the composer! She was having the hardest time with one movement, trying to get it up to speed. She was practicing diligently, doing progressively faster metronome speeds, one notch at a time, trying to get this thing up to speed. Finally, the musicians had the opportunity to have a rehearsal with the actual composer of the piece. They started playing it, and the composer said, “No, that’s not the tempo. It’s much slower!” So she showed him the metronome markings in the score, and he said, “Oh, yeah, I put that in there. But I didn’t have a metronome handy when I put it in.” So even the composer didn’t take the time to put in the right metronome marking! Even if they do, it’s not etched in stone.
There are many valid tempos that can work for a piece of music.
Composers are not necessarily the best interpreters of their music. And artists sometimes take different tempos with the same piece of music in different performances. So you have to find what works for you in your playing, on your piano, and in the room you’re playing in. Tempo is definitely more art than science! I hope this is helpful for you! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
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7 thoughts on “Should You Follow Metronome Markings in Your Music?”
As a beginning piano player you covered all the bases for me. Amazing story from your wife about the composer putting in a metronome number on the score that apparently was really not that important to him. I had already discovered this on my own, realizing that a piece can sound very good at different speeds, when played properly at that specific tempo.
I guess a deeper area to explore would be reasons to play faster or slower tempos and still sound great and be totally satisfied with your own choice. You mostly answered it already by identifying this as more art than science.
It can be very helpful playing pieces at various tempos to help determine what you like best. You will also gain insights into the architecture of the music whatever tempo you choose.
Forget Lang Lang and Glenn Gould! I like it at the speed you play it, which is a bit faster than I could play it!
Thank you – Yes, the piece works great at a reasonable tempo!
Mr. Estrin, you have so eloquently expressed my feelings about the non-use of the metronome for setting a performance tempo. With your permission, I shall prepare a letter for my piano students quoting most of your article and giving credit to your authorship and recognition to Living Pianos. Thank you for this contribution.
So glad to be of help reinforcing your teaching!
Lang Lang’s break neck tempo was almost laughable. He is obviously a tremendously talented superstar and one I would like to see perform in person. But his over the top showmanship has received some backlash from critics. Thanks for forwarding to me your previous videos that discuss appropriate stage presence without unnecessary showboating.