Meaning & use
andante con moto music
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Meaning
phrasefixed phrasemusictechnical
A musical direction meaning 'at a walking pace with movement'—moderately slow but with a sense of energy or motion.
Grammar: Used as an instruction in sheet music, usually placed above the staff at the start of a piece or section.
Patterns
- play something andante con moto
- marked andante con moto
The second movement is marked andante con moto, so it should feel flowing rather than sluggish.
The conductor asked the strings to play the opening andante con moto with a gentle forward push.
In this andante con moto passage, the melody moves steadily while the accompaniment provides a soft pulse.
Common combinations
- andante con moto
- The tempo instruction 'andante con moto' tells the performer to keep the music moving.
- play andante con moto
- The pianist chose to play the section andante con moto to bring out its dance-like character.
- marked andante con moto
- The score is marked andante con moto at the top of the page.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: andante con moto music or andante? andante con moto music or allegro con moto?
andante con moto music vs andante
Andante alone means a walking pace; con moto adds 'with movement', so the two are not interchangeable.
andante con moto music vs allegro con moto
Allegro con moto is fast and lively, while andante con moto is moderate and flowing.
Practice
What does the tempo marking 'andante con moto' instruct a musician to do?
Choose one answer.
Andante means 'at a walking pace' and con moto means 'with movement', so the combined instruction is to play moderately but with forward flow. 'Very slowly and heavily' would be closer to grave or lento, and 'as fast as possible' would be prestissimo.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “andante con moto music”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.