Mosso

Movement as an addition

On the tempo pages of Maikstrings Mosso does not occur, the word lives in the score. The page Tempo describes what such additions do: Italian terms indicate not only the speed but often a character as well. Andante is “walking, at an easy pace”, with 76 to 108 bpm according to the page Tools. “Andante mosso” colours this walking with movement, without fixing a number.

The combinations “più mosso” and “meno mosso” set a new tempo in relation to the preceding one. In the sheet music archive they occur several times in Dvořák's Symphony No. 9: “Un poco più mosso” on PDF page 5, “Poco meno mosso” on page 7, “Poco più mosso” on page 8 and “Meno mosso, Tempo I” on page 16. In the choral piece “Great Doxology” “Meno mosso” appears on page 6, in “The Storm” “un poco meno mosso” on page 2.

Mosso in the score

Two guitar sheets show “Andante mosso” as the basic marking.

Guitar

• Etüde Nr. 12 Matteo Carcassi, op. 60 No. 12 · guitar · from: 25 Melodious Studies

  “Andante mosso.” in bold above the first system, 4/4, two sharps, beginning with p, chords Bm7, C♯m and D.

• Il pleut, il pleut, bergère Felix Horetzky, No. 44 · French tune, setting for guitar · 1 page

  “Andante mosso” in small capitals to the left of the first system, 6/8, two sharps, chords D, A and Em.

The marking applies until a new tempo marking comes. After a change “a tempo” shows the way back, see A tempo.

Common mistakes

• Understanding Mosso alone as a tempo: Mostly it is an addition to a tempo word or a comparison with what precedes.
• Swapping più and meno: “Più mosso” is more moving, “meno mosso” less moving.
• Expecting a fixed bpm number: The additions are relative.