Meno Mosso
Slower than before — usually a deceleration between sections
Related
Meno mosso means "a little slower than before", often at a section change: a turbulent passage gives way to meno mosso and the music settles. It is the pair of più mosso; both are adjustments relative to the previous tempo.
Slowing down is not dragging: a good meno mosso makes the music broader and more breathing, not suddenly powerless. The usual mistake is to treat it as a ritardando — a ritardando slows gradually, while meno mosso reaches a new tempo and stays there.
Read deeper → Tempo
Sources
- meno mosso 的速度含义，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Tempo and tempo marks"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.