moderato

American  

[mod-uh-rah-toh] / ˌmɒd əˈrɑ toʊ /

adjective

Music.

1. moderate; in moderate time.

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moderato British  

/ ˌmɒdəˈrɑːtəʊ /

adverb

1. at a moderate tempo

2. (preceded by a tempo marking) a direction indicating that the tempo specified is to be used with restraint

   allegro moderato

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Etymology

Origin of moderato

1715–25; < Italian < Latin moderātus moderate

Explanation

When you see moderato in a piece of music, you know you should keep the pace right in the easy middle — neither fast nor slow, but at a medium tempo. Moderato is Italian, but looks very much like the English word moderate, which is exactly what it means: performed at a moderate tempo, or a nice, easy, controlled pace that doesn’t rush and doesn’t drag.

Example Sentences

Those qualities are matched, though in an earlier harmonic accent, in the Mendelssohn Octet, represented here by a lively, seat-of-the-pants reading of the opening Allegro moderato con fuoco movement.

From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2011

The wistful, dancing Andante moderato was similarly mixed: sometimes beguiling, sometimes careless.

From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2010

Allegro moderato, moderately quick; allegro maestoso, quick but with dignity; allegro assai and allegro molto, very quick; allegro con brio or con fuoco, with fire and energy; allegrissimo, with the utmost rapidity.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 A to Amide by Various

The first movement, an Allegro moderato, is in sonata-form.

From The Pianoforte Sonata Its Origin and Development by Shedlock, J. S. (John South)

It started moderato, but quickly increased to an allegro, and sometimes it is almost presto.

From Some Summer Days in Iowa by Lazell, Frederick John