ritardando

They also noticed a gradual decrease in tempo, a common feature in human music called a “ritardando.”

Indris also showed the ability to maintain a constant rhythm as they decreased the tempo of their songs, a process known as ritardando in classical music.

“Knowing all these words — for example, ‘crescendo,’ ‘diminuendo,’ ‘ritardando,’ which means to slow down, ‘fortissimo,’ which means play extremely loud” allowed him to “bring emotion to the piece, make it come alive,” he said.

In the second part Beethoven introduced the phrase in A flat major, by a ritardando of the two preceding bars.

It closes with a drooping, yearning ritardando that quite prepares us for the next languishing measures.