Alla breve
Cut time — a tempo marking indicating two minim beats per bar instead of four crotchets
Category
tempo
Pronunciation
AH-lah BREH-veh
Origin
Italian
Length
83 words · 1 min read
About Alla breve
Alla breve, also shown as a C with a vertical line through it, halves the beat unit so that the minim becomes the pulse. This effectively doubles the perceived speed without changing the note values written on the page.
More tempo terms
Moderato
View all tempoterms →At a moderate tempo; neither fast nor slow.
AdagiettoSlightly faster than adagio, a moderately slow tempo between 70 and 80 BPM
AllegrettoModerately fast, slightly slower than Allegro.
PrestissimoAs fast as possible; the fastest standard tempo marking.
RubatoFlexible, stolen time
Related
v1 · 10/04/2026Browse all terms →