Rallentando vs Ritardando

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Rallentando	Ritardando
Definition	Gradually slowing down; broadening the tempo.	Gradually slowing down
Category	tempo	tempo
Pronunciation	rah-lehn-TAHN-doh	ree-tar-DAHN-doh
Origin	Italian	Italian
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	slowing down broadening	rallentando slowing down
Antonyms	Accelerando Stringendo	accelerando stringendo
Usage	A gentle rallentando at the phrase ending gives the music a natural sense of repose.	The final bars are marked ritardando, bringing the piece to a gentle close.

Definition: Gradually slowing down; broadening the tempo.
Category: tempo
Pronunciation: rah-lehn-TAHN-doh
Origin: Italian
Synonyms: slowing down broadening
Antonyms: Accelerando Stringendo
Usage: A gentle rallentando at the phrase ending gives the music a natural sense of repose.

Definition: Gradually slowing down
Category: tempo
Pronunciation: ree-tar-DAHN-doh
Origin: Italian
Synonyms: rallentando slowing down
Antonyms: accelerando stringendo
Usage: The final bars are marked ritardando, bringing the piece to a gentle close.