Which marking indicates 'more motion'?

• A. Prestissimo
• B. Moderato
• C. Presto
• D. Più mosso

Answer: (D)

More movement in a passage is signaled by a tempo marking that asks the music to speed up relative to what came before. Mosso means motion or movement, and più means more. So piu mosso literally means “more motion,” i.e., raise the tempo compared to the previous section. That makes it the instruction you’d use when you want the music to go faster.

The other markings are different: Prestissimo and Presto indicate fast speeds, with Prestissimo being the extremely fast level and Presto a fast, but not as extreme as Prestissimo. Moderato means a moderate, comfortable pace, not a push to speed up.