Schnell: meaning and use in music

How is schnell played?

Establish a clearly fast pulse, then choose the exact speed from metre, note values, texture, period and any metronome or character markings. Schnell belongs to the vernacular score tradition in which German composers use their own language instead of, or alongside, Italian: it is equivalent in practical spirit to the fast Italian words, not a fixed synonym for one of them. A plain schnell is fast; qualifiers narrow or intensify it, as in nicht zu schnell and sehr schnell. Schumann’s Schnell und spielend in Kreisleriana shows that “fast” and “playful” remain separate simultaneous instructions. Keep the fast motion shaped and adjust it for the attached character rather than treating it as an empty number.

How does schnell sound?

Brisk and quick-moving — the German plain-spoken counterpart to allegro's liveliness.

Schnell is simply German for fast, the everyday counterpart to allegro, presto, vivace. It carries the same problem in reverse as langsam: broad and relative by design, with no agreed number attached to it anywhere I could verify.

In context

Duden links schnell with high speed and gives “a fast tempo” as a direct example. Schumann’s Kreisleriana prints Schnell und spielend, confirming the repertoire example and showing how nineteenth-century German score language formed expressive phrases rather than relying only on Italian headings. The word sets a fast state, while surrounding words define its particular character or limit; Mahler’s nicht zu schnell is one such limiting construction. Schnell has no universal BPM and is only broadly comparable with allegro or presto. No stable general abbreviation was established, so it remains written out.

Equivalent terms

• IT allegro
• IT presto
• FR vite
• FR rapide
• EN fast
• DA hurtigt