Andante moderato

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as a heading, either at the start of a movement or for a contrasting section within it, and in force until the next tempo word. In a movement that alternates two tempos, each change is re-marked at its double bar.

How Composers Use It

A calm, even walk that neither hurries nor lingers. Whether it sits a shade faster or slower than plain Andante has long been debated, so its meaning is clearest in contrast with what surrounds it: set against an Adagio it reads as flowing, against an Allegretto as restrained. Use it for a second idea that should move differently from the main tempo, and add a metronome mark if the exact speed matters.

Example

Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, third movement, m. 25: “Andante moderato”, contrasting with the movement’s opening “Adagio molto e cantabile”.

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