To indicate a tempo should become faster gradually within a passage, which term would you most likely use?

To indicate a tempo should become faster gradually within a passage, which term would you most likely use?

• A. Accelerando
• B. Ritardando
• C. Poco a poco
• D. Largo

Answer: (A)

When a tempo needs to become faster smoothly within a passage, the marking to use is accelerando. This term specifically tells musicians to gradually increase the tempo, guiding the performer to speed up in a controlled way as the music progresses. It’s the standard indication for a gradual tempo increase, and you’ll often see it written with accelerando or followed by a hairpin that opens to the right, signaling the speeding up. Ritardando means slowing down, which is the opposite of what’s requested. Largo is a tempo directive meaning very slow, not a gradual speed-up. Poco a poco means little by little, and while it can accompany tempo changes, it doesn’t by itself specify speeding up—the idea is more about gradual change in general, so accelerando remains the clear, most precise choice for a gradual increase in speed.

When a tempo needs to become faster smoothly within a passage, the marking to use is accelerando. This term specifically tells musicians to gradually increase the tempo, guiding the performer to speed up in a controlled way as the music progresses. It’s the standard indication for a gradual tempo increase, and you’ll often see it written with accelerando or followed by a hairpin that opens to the right, signaling the speeding up.

Ritardando means slowing down, which is the opposite of what’s requested. Largo is a tempo directive meaning very slow, not a gradual speed-up. Poco a poco means little by little, and while it can accompany tempo changes, it doesn’t by itself specify speeding up—the idea is more about gradual change in general, so accelerando remains the clear, most precise choice for a gradual increase in speed.