Slentando

As Printed on a Score

Printed above or below the staff, sometimes with dashes, where the slackening begins; it lasts until an a tempo or a new tempo word.

How Composers Use It

Slentando means slackening: a gradual relaxation of tempo, close to rallentando but with a softer, more languid sense — releasing tension rather than braking. It suits the close of a lyrical phrase or a dying-away transition. Mark the return (a tempo) so the player knows where the slackening ends.

Example

Chopin, Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31 — the second of his four Scherzos — m. 301: “slentando”, two bars after a pp.

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