DE nicht eilen tempo core term Support my free tools
How is nicht eilen played?
Keep the tempo from rushing ahead while preserving forward motion. The direct imperative corrects haste: steady the subdivisions, allow the phrase its full space and keep the pulse from “running,” as the baseline puts it. It does not necessarily mean slower, and it should not produce a ritardando unless another marking asks for one. Mahler places Nicht eilen after character words and alongside returns such as à Tempo, showing that the caution governs how an existing tempo is carried rather than setting a new one. Apply it through the phrase or until another tempo instruction.
How does nicht eilen sound?
The line moves forward, but the pulse does not run.
Nicht eilen — don't rush — turns up again and again in Mahler's own scores: twice in the First Symphony, once more in the third of the Songs of a Wayfarer. Every time, it's there to stop a performer speeding up a tempo that's already been established, never to set one.
In context
The Mahler terminology source translates nicht eilen as “do not rush,” and manuscript and proof documentation repeatedly places it inside already established tempo contexts, including after Grazioso and beside à Tempo. That evidence supports the baseline’s distinction: the line still moves forward, but the pulse does not run. The instruction can affect pulse discipline, subdivision and phrasing without automatically demanding a slower metronome value. No stable general abbreviation was established, so Nicht eilen remains written out.
Equivalent terms
- FR sans presser
- IT senza affrettare
- EN do not rush