Moto

As Printed on a Score

Almost always appears inside a phrase above the staff: Andante con moto, Allegro con moto, Più moto, Poco più moto. In a heading it lasts as long as that heading; Più moto is relative to the running tempo and lasts until a tempo or another tempo word.

How Composers Use It

Moto is the noun “motion”: con moto adds forward movement to a tempo word, and più moto asks for more motion than before. It is especially useful with slow and moderate words — Andante con moto keeps an andante from becoming static — and less informative with fast ones. Più moto and più mosso mean almost the same, so choose one and use it consistently within a work.

Example

Beethoven, Symphony No. 1, second movement, m. 1: “Andante cantabile con moto”, heading a movement that begins pp in the second violins.

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