I need a music term...?

Question

I need a music term that would basically tell the player to rush through a set of notes then slow down again or a combination of words that would. Please don't give me accelerando and ritardando cause I know those. If it helps, the phrase is a half note tied to an eighth note and it it leads into three eighth notes then a quarter note and then a half note and I need a word that would tell them to speed up the set of three eighth notes.

bka · Accepted Answer

rubato kinda means the opposite... because one definition of it is that you can steal some time, but you have to give it back so the complete phrase length stays the same.

or ad lib (ad libitum) gives the performer freedom to do what you are describing. but it doesnt specify exactly where to do it

even though the words technically mean the same thing as their italian counterparts... 
this kind of extreme tempo control was used more by french impressionist composers 
so saying "pressez" and "cedez" might have more the effect you want
check out some debussy and ravel scores to see what you can find that matches the feeling you want.

but... i have to check...
if you have three 8th notes that you want sped up, and everything else in the regular tempo... 
well... are you sure you actually  meant to write 8th notes?

maybe you really want a dotted half note, and 8th note triplets starting on the next beat instead?

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I need a music term...?

1 Answer