ABSTRACT
Even a note on a particular line or space represented only an approximate pitch in the mid-nineteenth century, but earlier than that composers had a device for the measurement of tempo. Chopin placed metronome rates in the autographs of a number of compositions written before he left Poland in 1830. He continued to do this for a few years after settling in Paris, but took to the practice of adding them to the manuscript in pencil. Finally, in 1836, they stop altogether. It is interesting to speculate on Chopin’s experience with the device: both his use and his avoidance of it are instructive. The evidence suggests that while Chopin was using the metronome, he used it wherever he could, which was, even in his pre-Paris days, not quite everywhere.
