What does accelerando mean?
You spot the word accelerando over the music and the whole band leans forward. It's one of the most exciting words in the score — and one of the simplest. Here's exactly what it means and how to play it without falling apart.
Accelerando (often written accel.) is an Italian word that means "accelerating" — in music, it tells you to gradually get faster. The tempo speeds up little by little over a passage, building energy and tension. Master this one term and you've unlocked one of the most dramatic tools composers have.
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What accelerando actually tells you
The key word is gradually. Accelerando is not a sudden jump to a faster speed — that would be a new tempo marking. Instead, the music eases up to the new pace over several beats or measures, the way a train pulls slowly away from a station before reaching full speed.
Because it's gradual, accelerando is a feeling as much as an instruction. Done well, the listener barely notices the seams — they just sense the music getting more urgent and alive.
How it looks in sheet music
You'll usually find accelerando written above the staff, in italics, in one of these forms:
- accelerando — the full word
- accel. — the common abbreviation
- accel. - - - - - — followed by a dashed line that shows how long the speed-up continues
When the dashed line ends (or a new tempo word like a tempo appears), you've reached the destination speed. A tempo simply means "return to the original tempo," which often follows a temporary speed change.
Accelerando vs. other tempo words
Italian tempo terms travel in families. Here are the ones accelerando lives near:
- Accelerando (accel.) — gradually faster
- Ritardando (rit.) — gradually slower (the opposite)
- Rallentando (rall.) — also gradually slower, often a touch broader
- Stringendo — pressing forward, getting faster and more intense
- A tempo — back to the original speed after a change
If you remember just two of these — accel. for faster and rit. for slower — you'll understand most of the tempo changes you meet as a beginner.
How to play a smooth accelerando
The most common mistake is rushing straight to top speed in the first beat, then having nowhere to go. Treat it like a curve, not a cliff:
- Know your start and end speeds. Find the tempo before the accelerando and the one you're heading toward.
- Spread the change evenly. If you have eight beats to speed up, nudge the tempo a little on each one — don't blow your budget early.
- Keep the beat steady within the change. Faster does not mean sloppy. The pulse should stay even, just quicker.
- Listen to the others. In a group, the conductor or section leader drives the accelerando — lock onto them, not your own internal clock.
How to practice speeding up
Before you can shape an accelerando, your sense of steady tempo has to be rock-solid — you can't bend a pulse you can't hold. Build that foundation first:
- Clap or count at one steady speed until it feels automatic.
- Then practice stepping the tempo up a notch at a time, holding each new speed for a few bars before going faster.
- Use a metronome to check that your "faster" is genuinely even and not just rushing.
Knowing your note values cold also helps — when you can read rhythm instantly, your brain has spare attention to shape the tempo. Brush up on note values and rests →
Rhythm Match
Lock in your sense of steady pulse and note values — the foundation every tempo change is built on. Match each rhythm symbol to its name.
Where you'll hear it
Accelerando shows up everywhere drama builds: the final chase in a film score, the closing measures of a marching-band number, the whirl at the end of a folk dance, the climax of a symphony. Once you know the word, you'll start hearing it in songs you already love — that thrilling moment where the music seems to take off.
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Frequently asked questions
What does accelerando mean?
Accelerando is an Italian tempo term meaning to gradually get faster. It tells the player to increase the speed of the music smoothly over a passage, not suddenly.
How is accelerando abbreviated?
Accelerando is usually written above the staff and abbreviated as accel. It is often followed by a dashed line showing how long the speed-up lasts.
What is the opposite of accelerando?
The opposite of accelerando is ritardando (rit.) or rallentando (rall.), both of which mean to gradually slow down.
Keep learning: Note values & rests · Read the treble clef · all guides · more articles