Tiento (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtjento], Portuguese: Tento [ˈtẽtu]) is a musical genre originating in Spain in the mid-15th century.
The word derives from the Spanish verb tentar (meaning either to touch, to tempt or to attempt), and was originally applied to music for various instruments.
[1] The tiento is formally extraordinarily diverse, more a set of guidelines than a rigid structural model such as fugue or rondo.
Similarly, it is difficult to assign a single style to the form, since it underwent a considerable amount of evolution from its inception to its decline in the late 18th century.
Later (especially in the works of Cabanilles), tientos would frequently alternate between the older style of strict counterpoint, and virtuosic, affective figuration typical of the toccata and some fantasias.