largo
1 Americanadjective
noun
plural
largosnoun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of largo
From Italian, dating back to 1675–85; see origin at large
Explanation
Music played or sung largo is slow and dignified, giving it a serious or solemn vibe. There isn't a lot of hurried movement between beats in a largo piece, so you probably won't see many eighth or sixteenth notes. Largo literally means "wide" or "broad" in Italian — but what does "broad" mean in music? It means that performing the music slowly shouldn’t result in a greater focus on the individual notes and chords. Rather, the focus should be on the "big picture" of the music, giving a sense of each musical phrase and its place in the flow of the whole piece. In that way, even though the music is slow, the listener feels swept along on a current of movement.
Vocabulary lists containing largo
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
En particular, Sheinbaum Pardo quiere trabajar con negocios extranjeros para impulsar la inversión privada en investigación, con el objetivo a largo plazo de remodelar la economía de México.
From Science Magazine • May 8, 2024
A lo largo del proyecto de observación de aves de este verano, hemos estado alentando a los participantes novatos a probar diferentes formas de avistamiento.
From New York Times • Sep. 11, 2023
Pero a lo largo de los años, en medio de la reestructuración corporativa y la llegada de Vice News y BuzzFeed, más vanguardistas, la influencia de MTV News comenzó a desvanecerse.
From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2023
El presidente Obama apareció varias veces a lo largo de los años.
From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2023
By comparing this to the longest-lasting written notes of the period, researchers have painstakingly teased out what composers might have expected from slower directions such as largo and adagio.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
