Ritardando

Ritardando, often shortened to rit. in scores, instructs the performer to gradually decrease the tempo. Unlike an abrupt change, the slowing should feel organic — each bar a touch broader than the last. The marking is typically followed by a dashed line or the word ‘ritardando’ written under the staff, ending where normal tempo resumes (often marked a tempo).

Composers reach for ritardando when they want to telegraph an arrival: the close of a phrase, the resolution of a long melodic line, or the moment before a key change. In Romantic piano repertoire — Chopin, Liszt, Brahms — ritardando is essentially structural; it carves out the rhetorical breath before something significant happens. In modern notation a hairpin curve or arrow may also indicate the same effect.

The rate of slowing is left to the performer. A subtle ritardando in a Bach chorale might shave only a few beats per minute; a dramatic one at the close of a Rachmaninoff prelude can halve the original tempo. Conductors often shape ritardandos by gesture rather than counting, trusting the ensemble to follow the curve.

Italian, present participle of ritardare (‘to delay, to slow’), itself from Latin retardare. Entered the international musical vocabulary in the late 17th century as Italian became the lingua franca of Western art music.

When you see rit. in a score, do not slow suddenly — begin almost imperceptibly and let the deceleration accumulate. Listen for cues from the ensemble or accompanist; ritardandos rarely succeed if each player chooses their own curve. The marking ends at a tempo, where the original speed must return cleanly.