Cédez très peu: meaning and use in music

Cédez très peu means “yield very little”: make only a minimal relaxation of tempo or forward pressure.

FR cédez très peu tempo modification advanced Support my free tools

How is cédez très peu played?

Give way by the smallest musically perceptible amount while preserving pulse and continuity. Très peu is a qualitative limit, not a percentage or BPM value: the easing is real but deliberately restrained, never an exaggerated ritardando. Keep it local and return at au mouvement, another restoration marking, the next tempo instruction or the phrase ending.

How does cédez très peu sound?

A barely perceptible relaxation, not a real ritardando.

In context

Critical Ravel sources document the exact phrase Cédez très peu, including a passage followed by au Mouvt. The qualifier reduces cédez to a barely perceptible expressive yield. It should shape the phrase without sounding like a broad slowdown, and the documented notation is the complete phrase rather than an abbreviation.

Equivalent terms

  • EN yield very little
  • DA giv næsten ikke efter

Music theory and score context

See also

Top Write to me