Moins

As Printed on a Score

Printed before the word it reduces — moins vite, moins lent, un peu moins lent — usually as a new tempo marking at the bar where the change happens. It holds until the next tempo word. Because moins lent and plus vite both mean “faster”, read the word it modifies before deciding which way the tempo moves.

How Composers Use It

The French meno. Moins measures against what came before, so it works best right after a clearly set tempo. Choosing moins lent rather than plus vite keeps the music’s slow character while lifting the pace slightly, and Debussy and Lili Boulanger use it that way inside slow songs. Keep to one comparative per word; moins lent et plus agité works because each comparative governs a different quality.

Example

Lili Boulanger, Clairières dans le ciel, “Demain fera un an”, voice, m. 8: “moins lent et plus agité”, in a song that opens “Lent” and “Librement” — one comparative eases the tempo, the other raises the agitation.

Related Terms