Più moto

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff where the quicker flow begins, sometimes completed by a preceding poco a poco (making the change gradual) or qualified as poco più moto; it lasts until a tempo, Tempo I or another tempo word.

Also spelled: piu moto

How Composers Use It

Più moto is nearly identical to più mosso — more motion — and composers seem to choose between them by ear; Brahms, Debussy and English song composers use più moto freely. Its emphasis on flow suits lyrical music that should move on without sounding hurried. Pick one of the two words and use it consistently within a piece, so performers do not read a difference that was never intended.

Example

Brahms, Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121, “Wenn ich mit Menschen- und mit Engelszungen redete”, voice, m. 76: “più moto”, reached through a “poco a poco” two bars earlier.

Related Terms