Noch schneller

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff after an earlier speed-up — usually a Schneller or a fast heading — where the music pushes on again; it stays in force until the next tempo word or the end. A reader has to trace back through every earlier tempo change to know what it is faster than.

How Composers Use It

The last rung of an escalating ladder, typical of Schumann’s piano music and songs: each new marking tops the one before. Use it only after the music has already accelerated, so the second push is audible. Check the fastest figures against the final tempo, and avoid a third rung — at that point a plain Presto or metronome mark is clearer.

Example

Schumann, Kreisleriana, Op. 16, No. 7, m. 73: “Noch schneller”, at f and ff, in a piece already headed “Sehr rasch”.

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