largo

/ˈlɑrgoʊ/

/ˈlɑgəʊ/

Other forms: largos

Music played or sung largo is slow and dignified, giving it a serious or solemn vibe. There isn't a lot of hurried movement between beats in a largo piece, so you probably won't see many eighth or sixteenth notes.

Largo literally means "wide" or "broad" in Italian — but what does "broad" mean in music? It means that performing the music slowly shouldn’t result in a greater focus on the individual notes and chords. Rather, the focus should be on the "big picture" of the music, giving a sense of each musical phrase and its place in the flow of the whole piece. In that way, even though the music is slow, the listener feels swept along on a current of movement.

Definitions of largo

1. adverb

   slowly and broadly
2. adjective

   very slow in tempo and broad in manner
   synonyms:

   slow

   at a slow tempo
3. noun

   (music) a composition or passage that is to be performed in a slow and dignified manner
   type of:

   composition, musical composition, opus, piece, piece of music

   a musical work that has been created

   musical passage, passage

   a short section of a musical composition