Same tempo

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff at a change of time signature or section, often with a note-value equation (quarter note = dotted quarter) showing which value keeps the pulse; it holds until another tempo direction. The Italian form is l’istesso tempo.

Also spelled: the same tempo

How Composers Use It

Use it where the notation changes but the pulse should not; a move from 2/4 to 6/8 can otherwise be read as a new tempo. Say which note value stays constant, because the same tempo can mean the same beat or the same bar. It also stops players accelerating when a passage merely looks faster because it is written in shorter note values.

Related Terms