tempo
/ˈtempo/masculine
The Spanish word for tempo is tempo.
In a musical context, tempo refers to the number of beats per minute.
Meaning: music: number of beats per minute (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈtempo/
Did you know?
- While tempo refers to musical speed, the word tiempo refers to both 'time' and 'weather'.
- Although tempo is used in Spanish, it is an Italian loanword, meaning it follows Italian musical conventions rather than native Spanish ones.
- In Spanish, the word tempo is almost exclusively used in professional musical scores and theory. In casual conversation about a song's speed, a speaker is more likely to use velocidad or ritmo.
Examples in context
- El tempo cambiaba paulatinamente hacia el final de la sinfonía.The tempo changed gradually toward the end of the symphony.This sentence shows how tempo might change within a symphony.Tatoeba #9770061 by Eremon, translation #8993202 by mccarras
- Necesitamos cambiar el ritmo de esta pieza musical.We need to change the tempo of this piece of music.
- El compositor indicó que el tempo de esta parte debe ser más lento.The composer indicated that the tempo of this section should be slower.
- No me gusta la velocidad con la que tocas esa pieza, es demasiado rápida.I don't like the speed at which you play that piece, it's too fast.
- El tempo de esta pieza es muy rápido.The tempo of this piece is very fast.
- ¿Podemos subir un poco el tempo?Can we increase the tempo a little bit?
Example conversation
A music rehearsal in a studio.
- JavierSofía, el tempo de este vals es demasiado lento.Sofía, the tempo of this waltz is too slow.
- SofíaTienes razón, Javier, voy a acelerarlo.You are right, Javier, I am going to speed it up.
- JavierPerfecto, mantengamos un tempo constante ahora.Perfect, let's keep a steady tempo now.
- SofíaDe acuerdo, lo intentaré.Okay, I will try.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tempo” translations and entries tempo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
