Placido

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff or under a keyboard part, usually inside a longer direction (“sempre legato e placido”, “dolce placido”, “dolce assai e placido”) at the start of a calm passage. It holds until the character changes and sets mood, not tempo.

How Composers Use It

Placido asks for placid, untroubled calm: an even tone, smooth connection, no urgency. It is close to tranquillo but describes the surface of the sound more than the pace, which is why it so often travels with legato or dolce; Liszt and Berlioz both use it in this way. Choose it where you want evenness rather than emotional intensity, with a slow or moderate tempo word.

Example

Liszt, Transcendental Étude No. 3 (“Paysage”), piano, m. 1: “sempre legato e placido”, printed with “Poco Adagio.” and “dolcissimo, una corda”.

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