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Tempo Markings

Presto

Pronounced PRESS-toh

Definition

Presto is a tempo marking meaning very fast. It is faster than allegro and vivace, often around 168 to 208 beats per minute, and only prestissimo is faster.

Presto means "quick" or "ready" in Italian, and in music it is a very fast tempo: faster than allegro and vivace, with only prestissimo above it. Many charts give roughly 168 to 208 beats per minute, the top of a traditional metronome's scale.

A three-bar grand-staff example in A minor and 4/4, marked Presto and forte. The right hand runs in eighth notes through A minor and E major chord shapes, ending on quarter notes A and E and a half-note A; the left hand plays half-note A and E, then quarter and half notes.
An original three-bar passage in A minor marked Presto and f, played at ♩ = 176: running eighth notes in the right hand over A and E in the bass.

Presto in real music

Presto is a favorite for finales and for passages that need breathless energy. The last movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata is marked Presto agitato, very fast and restless; Chopin's Prelude in B-flat minor, Op. 28 No. 16, is marked Presto con fuoco, very fast and fiery. A fast movement may also end with a presto coda that speeds up the final bars.

How to practice a presto

Hardly anyone learns a presto at presto.

  1. Learn the notes and fingering at a slow tempo, about half speed.
  2. Raise the metronome a few clicks at a time over several days.
  3. Practice in short bursts at the full tempo: a group of four notes, then a pause, then the next group. This trains the hand to move quickly without tension.
  4. Think in bigger beats. At ♩ = 176, counting every quarter note gets frantic; feel half notes or whole bars instead.

A common confusion

Presto is also the "presto" of a magician's "hey presto!", meaning "at once". In music it describes a speed, not a sudden change. For a sudden change of tempo, look at più mosso or subito.

Presto is the fastest band of the speedometer in Tempo & the Metronome. Dynamics & Tempo Ladders, Match the terms: level 2 and the Musical terms & signs chart all include it.

Common questions

What is faster, presto or allegro?

Presto. Allegro is fast; presto is very fast, and only prestissimo is faster.

Practice it: free worksheets