Alla breve
Cut time — a tempo marking indicating two minim beats per bar instead of four crotchets
Category
tempo
Pronunciation
AH-lah BREH-veh
Origin
Italian
Length
83 words · 1 min read
About Alla breve
Alla breve, also shown as a C with a vertical line through it, halves the beat unit so that the minim becomes the pulse. This effectively doubles the perceived speed without changing the note values written on the page.
More tempo terms
Tempo di valse
View all tempoterms →In waltz time — a moderate triple-time tempo suitable for dancing
Più MossoMore motion; faster.
Tempo primoReturn to the original tempo.
A tempoReturn to the original tempo after a deviation.
LargoVery slow and broad; the slowest standard tempo marking.
Related
v1 · 10/04/2026Browse all terms →