Agitato

What it means

Agitato is an Italian performance marking meaning "agitated" or "restless." It calls for a lively, tense character, often paired with a somewhat pressing, forward-driving tempo, without prescribing an exact metronome speed.

In the notation

Agitato appears as a written instruction above the staff, frequently combined with a tempo marking such as Allegro agitato, and occasionally on its own or paired with related character markings such as con agitazione.

Musical use

Agitato is one of the commonly used Italian expression terms that translate an inner, emotional state directly into performance. It appears in both instrumental and vocal music, often at dramatic high points of a work, in conflict scenes in opera, or in animated development sections of instrumental music.

Musically, agitato often coincides with rhythmic unrest, such as fast note values, syncopated accents, or tremolo-like repetitions, which heighten the impression of inner agitation.

Performance practice

When you play a passage marked agitato, look for a perceptible forward drive in tempo and a certain edge in articulation, without losing control of the pulse. The restlessness should sound audible, but not chaotic.