Tempo di menuetto

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as the heading of a movement or section, sometimes alongside a separate title such as Menuetto; it lasts until the next tempo word, and a trio usually keeps the same tempo unless marked otherwise.

Also spelled: tempo di minuetto

How Composers Use It

Classical minuet tempi varied widely, and by Beethoven’s time many “minuets” were quick scherzos in disguise. Tempo di menuetto asks for a true minuet pace — moderate, three clear beats, poised rather than driven — which is why Beethoven’s use of it in the Eighth Symphony, in place of a scherzo, is often heard as a deliberate glance back at the 18th century. Use it when you want that courtly gait to be unmistakable.

Example

Beethoven, Symphony No. 8, third movement, m. 1: “Tempo di Menuetto”, the movement opening f with sf accents in the second bar.

Related Terms