Hesitant

What it means

Zögernd belongs among the German tempo and performance words that, from the eighteenth century onward, stand alongside the Italian designations. What is called for is a holding-back of the tempo that corresponds to the Italian ritenuto: the music no longer proceeds straight ahead but behaves as though it were searching for the next step.

Compared with a mere slowing down, the difference lies in the expression. Ritardando and rallentando describe an even process; zögernd means an attitude of indecision, which may also show itself in uneven yielding. Closely related is the German verhalten, which likewise calls for restraint, but means more strongly the pulling-back of sound and expression than of tempo.

Like all German performance markings, the word is not strictly defined; it explains the composer's intention rather than fixing a value.

In the notation

The word stands above the staff at the point from which it applies, in German-language editions in place of an Italian marking. The effect is mostly brief and ends with a marking such as “wieder im Zeitmaß” (again in tempo) or with the entry of the next section.

Musical use

The marking is used at points that depict a moment of uncertainty or of pausing: before a surprising harmonic change, before the entry of a new idea, at caesuras within a phrase. In nineteenth-century song and piano literature it often stands over passages where the text takes a turn.

The instruction calls for a hesitant holding-back of the tempo. Italian has esitando for this, which likewise designates a hesitant yielding in tempo.

Performance practice

Pull the tempo back noticeably, but keep the line: a hesitation should not sound like a breaking-off. Fix how long the moment lasts, so that it does not dissolve. Keep the sound full while you yield — if the tone diminishes along with the tempo, the passage seems powerless. And find your way back into tempo afterward, even if it is not expressly notated.