Fast

As Printed on a Score

Printed before the word it qualifies — fast unhörbar, fast ohne Ton — and means “almost”. A reader working from English must not mistake it for a tempo word: in a German direction fast never means quick. Its scope is that of the word it modifies.

How Composers Use It

The German quasi in its sense of “nearly”: use it to stop just short of an extreme — almost inaudible, almost toneless — leaving the player a sliver of sound to control. Because of the false friend with English, avoid it in a score that also carries English directions, where it could be misread.

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