Tempo marks indicate how fast music is supposed to be played. Tempo marks can show text instructions, metronome marks, or a combination of both.
Text instructions in tempo marks are traditionally expressed in Italian, such as largo or allegretto. The text instruction can express how fast the music is supposed to be played, but it can also hint to its character. For example, grave means “slow”, but also “solemn” and “sad”, and vivo translates to “fast”, but also implies a “lively” and “energetic” quality.
Metronome marks show the speed of the music, indicated in beats per minute, or “bpm”.
The Score Editor offers a large variety of tempo marks that are available as preset Tempo options on the Symbols tab.
When you input a tempo preset, it is shown as a tempo mark in the score display, and as a tempo event in the Tempo Track Editor. Tempo presets chosen from the Absolute Tempo Change section create a single step tempo event in the Tempo Track Editor.
Tempo presets chosen from the Gradual Tempo Change section create a step tempo event that results in a ramp.
In the Tempo Track Editor, you can edit tempo indications via the info line. The Text field shows Italian tempo indications, and the Value field displays metronome marks.
You can also enter tempo events via the Tempo Track Editor. They are shown as tempo marks in the Score Editor.
The Project window ruler follows any tempo changes entered via the Score Editor or the Tempo Track Editor.