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ritenuto

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  • Mavis Osinski
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Meaning of Ritenuto in Music

In music, **ritenuto** is an Italian term that indicates a sudden change in tempo, specifically a **holding back or slowing down** of the tempo. It is often used as a direction in sheet music to instruct performers to immediately play at a slower tempo. The term is derived from the Italian word "ritenere," which means "to withhold" or "to hold back" .

Unlike other tempo markings such as rallentando or ritardando, which indicate a gradual slowing down over several notes or measures, ritenuto implies an **abrupt and immediate slowing down** of the tempo It is important to note that the interpretation of musical terms can vary, and the context and style of the music may influence the exact interpretation of ritenuto in a specific piece.

Sources: 'Ritenuto Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster' 'Rallentando & Ritardando: What's the Difference? Color In My Piano'

A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition with a slowing of the tempo more suddenly and extremely than a ritardando. The abbreviation is riten.

See more about tempo terminology in the Appendix.

In addition, you can familiarize yourself with the terms:

Popular questions related to ritenuto

Poco Ritenuto would mean you're are taking a little bit away from the singing, not completely 100 percent, you are withholding a little bit of the gutso.

: becoming gradually slower and more stately. used as a direction in music.

a little 1. Italian term for a little. Typically used to modify tempo markings as in "accelerando poco a poco" meaning "getting faster little by little." See also [English] a little; [French] un peu; [German] ein wenig; [It.] poco.

a gradual increase in tempo : a gradual increase in tempo.

to rip, to tear.

Musical terms related to speed

Italian termMeaning
Ritardando or rit.Held back, gradually slower
Ritenuto or rit./riten.Held back, immediately slower
Accelerando or accel.Gradually accelerate
A tempoBack to the original tempo

Ritardando - Gradually getting slower to a stopping point. Rallentando - Gradually getting slower to a slower tempo. Allargando - Ritardando with increasing volume.

Ritardando and rallentando both mean gradually getting slower and according to my AB guide to music theory book they are both supposed to imply a gradual slowing down. And allargando means broadening, implying getting a little slower and probably also a little louder.

country rock band Poco was an American country rock band originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina, former members of Buffalo Springfield, were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassist Randy Meisner, and drummer George Grantham.

Plain Old CLR Object is a play on the term plain old Java object from the Java EE programming world, which was coined by Martin Fowler in 2000. POCO is often expanded to plain old C# object, though POCOs can be created with any language targeting the CLR. An alternative acronym sometimes used is plain old . NET object.

But accelerando just means get faster, while stringendo implies "gradually" get faster and more intense.

Accelerando: gradually SPEEDING UP the tempo.

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