Alla breve

In contemporary use, alla breve suggests a fairly quick tempo. Thus, it is used frequently for military marches. From about 1600 to 1900, its meaning with regard to tempo varied, so it cannot always be taken to mean a quick tempo. Using alla breve helps the musician read notes of short duration more cleanly with fewer beats. ==Historical usage==

The term alla breve is derived from the system of mensural or proportional notation, in use prior to 1600, in which note values (and their symbols) were related according to the ratios 2:1 or 3:1. Originally it refers to a tactus or metrical pulse (now commonly referred to as the "beat") on the whole note (semibreve) exchanged for that on the double whole note (breve), in contexts when the breve is twice as long as the semibreve (proportio dubla). The use of the vertical line or stroke in a musical graphical symbol, as practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and now referred to by the modern term of "cut time", did not always have the same meaning as alla breve. It sometimes had other functions, including non-mensural ones. ==Example==

The following is an example with the same rhythm notated in and in : ==Notes==