February is National Heart Month, which always makes me think of beats. In music, we talk about keeping a steady beat...just like your heart does. Your heart can beat fast when you're exercising or excited or it can beat slowly when you're really relaxed. Either is fine as long as it's steady. Music is the same way. Tempo is how fast or slow a song is played. Here are some tempo terms for you:
Largo- slow (40-60 beats per minute)
Andante- walking pace (76-108 beats per minute)
Andante moderato- between andante and moderato (92-112 bpm)
Moderato- moderately (108-12 bpm)
Allegro- fast, quickly, and bright (120-168 bpm)
Vivace- lively and fast (168-176 bpm)
Presto- very, very fast (168-200 bpm)
There are plenty more tempo markings, but these are common ones that you'll find in your piano music. Use a metronome to get the feel for the range of beats per minute.
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