NotePlayMusicTempo, Dynamics & Metronome Marks Practice
Practise common tempo and dynamics markings, then interpret a metronome mark in context.
Worksheet
What does the term forte (f) mean?
Answer: ______________________
What does the term piano (p) mean?
Answer: ______________________
What does crescendo mean?
Answer: ______________________
What does the term Allegro mean?
Answer: ______________________
Select the correct meaning of the term:
Answer: ______________________
A passage is marked p, then cresc., then f. How should the loudness change?
Answer: ______________________
Which instruction changes the speed rather than the loudness?
Answer: ______________________
A metronome mark says quaver = 60. What is counted sixty times per minute?
Answer: ______________________
Answer Key
- Loud — Forte means loud.
- Quiet — Piano means quiet (soft).
- Gradually getting louder — Crescendo means gradually getting louder.
- Quick and lively — Allegro describes a quick, lively tempo. It does not specify whether a passage is loud or quiet.
- 120 crotchet beats in a minute — A metronome mark of crotchet = 120 means 120 crotchet beats in a minute.
- Start quiet and gradually grow louder — Begin quietly at p, grow louder during the crescendo, and reach a loud f.
- Allegro — Allegro sets a quick, lively tempo. The other markings describe loudness or a change in loudness.
- Quaver pulses — The quaver symbol names the pulse; 60 gives the number of those quaver pulses per minute.
1. What does the term forte (f) mean?
2. What does the term piano (p) mean?
3. What does crescendo mean?
4. What does the term Allegro mean?
5. Select the correct meaning of the term:
6. A passage is marked p, then cresc., then f. How should the loudness change?
💡 Identify the starting and ending dynamics first. What does the sign between them change?
7. Which instruction changes the speed rather than the loudness?
💡 Tempo means speed; dynamics mean loudness.
8. A metronome mark says quaver = 60. What is counted sixty times per minute?
💡 Read the note symbol beside the number before interpreting the rate.
What this practice covers
- Know that forte means loud and piano means quiet.
- Recognize crescendo as gradually getting louder.
- Recognize Allegro as quick and lively.
- Interpret a metronome mark, including its beat value and pulses per minute.
Need a reminder? Separate speed, volume and gradual change
Review Tempo, Dynamics and Metronome Marks
Tempo describes speed: Allegro asks for a quick, lively pace. Dynamics describe loudness: piano (p) is quiet and forte (f) is loud. A crescendo asks you to grow gradually louder, not change speed or start loudly at once.
A metronome marking gives a measurable beat rate. The note symbol shows which value receives the pulse; the number tells how many such pulses occur in one minute.
How to work it out
- First decide whether the marking describes speed, loudness, or a change in loudness.
- For a metronome number, name the indicated note value before interpreting the number as beats per minute.
Worked example
What does a quaver = 60 marking mean?
Play sixty quaver pulses per minute: one indicated quaver pulse each second. It does not mean sixty crotchets per minute.
Watch for this mistake
Piano is an instruction about volume in this context, not the name of the instrument being played.