Tempo Variance
These terms and symbols denote a change in speed from slow to fast or fast to slow.
Name	Intended Change
A tempo	In tempo; reestablishes original speed after accelerando or ritardando
Accelerando	Increase speed
Accelerando(accel.)	Quickening; a gradual speeding up of the tempo
Alla Breve	Duple time with a half note as the unit; same as Cut Time
Allargando	Slow down
Allargando(allarg.)	Broadening; sometimes interpreted as a combination of ritardando and crescendo
ancora	Still more; used generally with tempo indications, as ancora meno mosso (still more slowly)
Breath Mark	Pause, take a breath
cédez	French for poco ritardando; a slight holding back
Come prima	As at first
Come sopra	As above; much the same as come prima
Doppio movimento	Twice as fast; usually used in conjunction with Common Time changing to Cut time
Fermata	Hold longer
L'istesso tempo	The same tempo, indicating that the beat remains constant when the meter changes as 2/4 to 6/8
Meno mosso	Less motion; slower. May be qualified by poco (a little less)
Più mosso
Piùallegro	faster
Piùanimato
Piùlento
pressez	French term for "quicken"; same meaning as accelerando
Rallentando	Decrease speed
Rallentando(rall.)	Same as ritardando; a gradual slowing-down of the tempo
Ritardando	Gradually play slower
Ritardando(rit.)	Slowing down; a gradual holding-back of the tempo
Ritenuto	Hold back
Ritenuto(riten.)	Frequently confused with ritardando; means a sudden slowing-down, in contrast to the gradual holding-back of rallentando
rubato	Litterally, to "rob" the time values by holding-back or speeding up at will to color a phrase
Rubato	Freely
Stringendo	Hurry up
Stringendo(string.)	Pressing forward; sometimes erroneously interpreted as a combination of accelerando and crescendo
Tempo giusto	In strict tempo (non-rubato)
Tempo primo(Tempo I°)	Original tempo
Trattenuto(tratt.)	Holdng back (same as rallentando) with the addition of a sustained quality (sostenuto)