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Not, as in “pas vite” (not fast) and “pas trop” (not too); as a noun, a step, as in “pas à pas” (step by step).
As a negation it is printed directly before the word it denies — Pas vite, pas trop lent — usually in a heading, and it lasts as long as that word. As a noun it means “step”: pas à pas (step by step), or a dance title such as pas de deux. Context decides; a following adjective or adverb means negation.
A negative heading defines a tempo by what it is not, which leaves the positive character to the performer: Pas vite is calmer and less specific than modéré. That openness suits songs where the text sets the pace. Use it when the danger is hurrying; when you know the speed you want, name it or add a metronome mark. Satie’s pas à pas shows the other sense — an image of gait rather than a negation.
Satie, Gnossienne No. 1, piano: “pas à pas” (step by step), one of the remarks Satie prints over the unbarred line, among them “très luisant” and “questionnez”.
Pas is one of 1755 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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