alla breve
[
ah
-l
uh
brev
-ey;
Italian
ahl
-lah
b
r
e
-ve]
/ˈɑ lə ˈbrɛv eɪ;
Italian
ˈɑl lɑ ˈbrɛ vɛ/
adverb, adjective
,
Music.
1.
using the half note as the basic time unit; 2/2 time.
Symbol:
.
Also called
cut time
.
Compare
common time
.
Origin of
alla breve
1800-10;
<
Italian:
in short time, accelerated. See
brief
British Dictionary definitions for
alla breve
alla breve
/
ˈælə ˈbreɪvɪ;
Italian
ˈalla ˈbrɛːve
/
noun
1.
a musical time signature indicating two or four minims to a bar
adjective, adverb
2.
twice as fast as normal
Usual symbol
alla_breve
Word Origin
C19: Italian, literally: (according) to the breve