Larghetto: Rather slow, slightly faster than largo (60–66 BPM)
Larghetto means rather slow, a tempo of roughly 60-66 BPM that sits just above largo with more flow and less weight.
Larghetto Metronome: 60 to 66 BPM
Press play to hear Larghetto at 63 BPM, or switch to the slow and fast ends of the range.
Loops until you press Stop. Beat 1 is accented so you can feel where the bar starts.
What Larghetto Means
Larghetto is the diminutive form of largo, meaning 'a little broad' or somewhat less slow than largo. It occupies a gentle middle ground between the deep slowness of largo and the walking pace of andante. Chopin's famous second piano concerto features a celebrated larghetto movement of exquisite lyrical beauty.
Etymology
Italian, diminutive of 'largo', literally 'a little broad'
BPM Range
Minimum: 60 BPM
Maximum: 66 BPM
Typical: 63 BPM
Larghetto should feel flowing yet unhurried. Avoid dragging by keeping a clear sense of pulse, and let melodic lines sing naturally at this gentle tempo.
Larghetto in Real Music
Larghetto is a slow-movement marking for music that needs to sing rather than brood. Chopin gave the second movement of his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor the marking Larghetto, and its long, ornamented nocturne melody shows exactly what the tempo is for: slow enough for elaborate decoration, quick enough that the line never loses its shape. Beethoven marked the second movement of his Symphony No. 2 Larghetto, a spacious, lyrical movement of unusual length for its date, and Mozart used the same marking for the second movement of his Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581, where the clarinet floats above muted strings. The marking appears far less often than largo or adagio, which is part of why it reads as a deliberate choice when a composer writes it. In practice larghetto and slow adagio playing can end up at similar speeds, and the difference is one of intent: larghetto asks the performer not to let the music settle into full largo breadth. The narrow 60-66 BPM window is roughly one beat per second, near a resting heart rate, which is one reason the tempo feels natural and unforced. Players usually keep the pulse audible in the accompaniment so the decorated melody has something steady to lean against.
Example Pieces
- Piano Concerto No. 2, 2nd movement (Larghetto), Frédéric Chopin
- Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622, 2nd movement (Adagio/Larghetto), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor', 2nd movement (Adagio un poco mosso), Ludwig van Beethoven
Common Genres
Related Tempo Markings
Frequently Asked Questions
Is larghetto faster or slower than largo?
Larghetto is faster than largo. The '-etto' suffix in Italian is a diminutive, making larghetto 'a little broad', slightly quicker than the full broadness of largo.
What BPM is larghetto?
Larghetto is typically performed at 60-66 BPM, bridging the gap between the very slow largo and the more moderate adagio.
How fast is larghetto in BPM?
Larghetto is typically 60-66 BPM, around 63 BPM in practice. That places it just above largo at 40-60 BPM and just below adagio, which begins at 66 BPM.
What pieces are marked larghetto?
The Larghetto second movement of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 is the most celebrated. Beethoven marked the second movement of his Symphony No. 2 Larghetto, and Mozart used it in the Clarinet Quintet, K. 581.
Is larghetto slower than andante?
Yes. Larghetto sits at 60-66 BPM while andante runs 76-108 BPM, so andante is noticeably quicker. Larghetto still belongs with the slow tempos; andante is a walking pace.
Related References
Practise Larghetto at Any Tempo
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