L’istesso tempo

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff at a change of metre or note value, or at the start of a movement or song that continues the previous one; Lo stesso tempo is the same instruction. The beat carries over, not necessarily the written note value, so the reader must decide which unit stays constant.

Abbreviations: L’istesso

Also spelled: l'istesso tempo, lo stesso tempo, l'istesso

How Composers Use It

Use it wherever the time signature or notation changes but the pulse should not, especially where the change might suggest a new speed (4/4 to 12/8, 2/4 to 6/8). If the constant unit could be read two ways, add a note-value equation (quarter = dotted quarter). It also links movements or songs, carrying one tempo across a break so that the second piece continues rather than restarts.

Example

Brahms, “In der Ferne”, Op. 19, voice, m. 1: “L’istesso tempo”, opening the song at p and carrying over the tempo of the song before it in the set.

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