A tempo When music returns to it's normal speed the words 'A tempo' are written above the stave. 'tempo' in music means 'speed' rather than 'time'.
L'istesso Tempo The same tempo.
Tempo the pace of a musical piece
Accelerando, accel. If the pulse of a piece of music is to become gradually quicker the word ACCEL. (short for accelerando) is used. A dotted line shows how long the acceleration is too last, and 'A tempo', or tempo 1, meaning 'primo', is written when the pulse returns to its original speed.
Andante At a moderate 'walking' pace tempo
A placere At pleasure. The tempo or speed of the music is left for player or singer to decide.
A poco a poco Litterally means little by little. This is used for a change of tempo or volume.
Assai Very. Used in tempo directions, for example, allegro assai. (This is Italian, from Vulgar Latin *ad satis, to sufficiency.) eg: adagio assai, very slow.
Presto Italian for 'fast'. Presto is generally used as the fastest tempo marking. In 18th century music it usually means as fast as possible.
Vivace Lively, brisk. When used as a tempo, generally faster than allegro, but not as fast as presto.
Waltz A waltz is a song written in 3/4 time with a strong accent on the first beat. It is most often played at a slow tempo, usually between 30 to 45 bpm, but dependent upon the region of performance and the origin of the music.
