How it works
A largo metronome is set between 40 and 66 beats a minute in Wikipedia's list of common tempo markings, which translates Largo as slow and broad and offers every figure as a very rough approximation.
Read the full guide
Start
Tap the pad, or press Space. At 53 each click waits over a second for the next. Tap the pad again to stop.
Change the tempo
Tap the number under the pad to enter a tempo, or use minus and plus. The range's slow end, 40, is as slow as a mechanical metronome usually goes: Wikipedia's Metronome article gives its reach as 40 to 208. This pad carries on down to 1.
Questions and answers
What is the largo metronome marking?
A span of speeds, not one number: 40 to 66 beats a minute in Wikipedia's list of common tempo markings, which says no mark can be worked out from a word alone. Under Largo lies Grave, very slow and solemn, at 24 to 40.
Which is slower on a metronome, largo or adagio?
Largo, nowadays. The Tempo article reports a swap: today's Largo is slower than Adagio, while in Baroque music it was the faster of the two. The list barely parts them: Largo reaches down to 40, Adagio to 44, and both end at 66.
How do largo, larghetto and larghissimo differ?
By degree. In the list Larghetto is rather slow and broad, 44 to 66, so it gives up only Largo's four slowest tempos. Larghissimo, extremely slow, is the slowest marking the list has: 24 beats a minute and under.
Is every piece called a largo marked largo?
No. The aria Ombra mai fu, from Handel's opera Serse, circulates in arrangements titled Largo from Xerxes or Handel's Largo, and Wikipedia's article on it says the original marking is larghetto. Its article on the opera says the same.
Why can't I hear the metronome?
Slow clicks can seem like none: at 53 wait a good second for the next. If it never comes, the phone's ring switch, volume or a Bluetooth speaker is usually why. The pad's two dots go on changing places.