Notating Speed

I have used a metronome in my piano practice for many years, and I'm very comfortable with the concept. I use it to keep in strict time in a piece, to help overcome problems with difficult rhythm, and to gradually increase the speed of a piece. With that being said, even though I knew (or thought I knew!) who the inventor was, I'd never looked further into it's history until now.

The metronome was first patented in 1815 by Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, an inventor, engineer and showman. He is also known for composing automated music playing machines, such as the Orchestrion and Panharmonicon, designed to imitate the sounds of real instruments.

The actual inventor of the first metronome was German Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel. He called his invention the cronometer, and donated the first working model to Hollandsch Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letterkunde en Schoone Kunsten in Amsterdam. He made the unfortunate oversight of not protecting his idea, and Johann Maelzel patented it after adding a beat scale. Ludwig Van Beethoven was an acquaintance of Maelzel, and is thought to be the first major composer to indicate specific metronome tempo markings for his music.

The metronome has also been used as a musical instrument in itself in more recent times; Georgi Ligeti's Poème Symphonique for 100 metronomes is an example. In that piece, 100 metronomes are each set to different tempos, then to start ticking at the same time. This creates an interesting cacophony until at varying times the metronomes begin to wind down and finally stop. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take part in a performance of this work in March of this year.

Aside from a metronome speed marking in beats per minute, the speed of a piece can also be indicated in words, traditionally Italian. Words such as Presto, Vivace, Allegro, Andante, Largo, and Grave all give an approximate guide to the required speed and character of the music, although these aren't as specific as a metronome marking, and thus may be interpreted slightly differently by different performers.

In my percussion pieces so far I have used a variety of tempos, using either a metronome marking or a performance direction as I saw fit at the time; for example in my piece Funeral March, I chose to use the direction Grave, as this means very slow and solemn; apt for the character of the piece.