Accelerando meaning?

• A. Gradually getting softer.
• B. A curved line indicating legato between notes.
• C. Gradually speeding up.
• D. Gradually slowing down.

Answer: (C)

Accelerando is a tempo marking that tells you to speed up the music gradually as you proceed. It’s about tempo, not volume or articulation. You’ll often see it written as accelerando or shown with a hairpin opening to the right, which visually signals increasing speed. Follow it by increasing the tempo smoothly over the marked section, ending when the marking stops or a new tempo is given. The option describing gradually getting softer would refer to a dynamic marking like diminuendo, not tempo. The curved line indicating legato points to a smooth connection between notes, not a tempo change. The option describing gradually slowing down is the opposite of accelerando, called ritardando or rallentando.