Allegro Tempo (BPM)
Allegro is an Italian tempo marking meaning fast and cheerful. In modern metronome terms it is generally taken as about 120–156 BPM — fast and cheerful, energetic, the workhorse fast tempo of classical music.
Note lengths at a typical allegro tempo (138 BPM)
Using 138 BPM as a representative allegro tempo. For any other BPM use the BPM to milliseconds converter.
| Note value | Milliseconds |
|---|---|
| Whole note (1/1) | 1739.13 ms |
| Half note (1/2) | 869.57 ms |
| Quarter note (1/4, one beat) | 434.78 ms |
| Eighth note (1/8) | 217.39 ms |
| Sixteenth note (1/16) | 108.70 ms |
| Thirty-second note (1/32) | 54.35 ms |
| Bar in 4/4 | 1739.13 ms |
How allegro compares to nearby tempos
| Term | BPM band | Relationship to Allegro |
|---|---|---|
| Allegretto | 100–120 | slower than Allegro |
| Allegro | 120–156 | — you are here — |
| Vivace | 156–176 | faster than Allegro |
Frequently asked questions
- What BPM is Allegro?
- Allegro is generally taken as about 120–156 BPM — fast, cheerful, faster than allegretto, slower than vivace.
- Is Allegro faster or slower than Vivace?
- Allegro is slower than Vivace. Vivace sits around 156–176 BPM, while Allegro is about 120–156 BPM, so Allegro is the calmer of the two.
- What is one beat in milliseconds at Allegro?
- At a typical 138 BPM, one beat (a quarter note) is 60000 ÷ 138 ≈ 434.78 ms. At 156 BPM it is about 384.62 ms; at 120 BPM about 500.00 ms.