signals to the contrary, such as changes in time signature or note length (half notes in could change to whole notes in , and they would all have the same duration) Ma non tanto – but not so much; used in the same way and has the same effect as Ma non troppo (see immediately below) but to a lesser degree Ma non troppo – but not too much; used to modify a basic tempo to indicate that the basic tempo should be reined in to a degree; for example, Adagio ma non troppo to mean ″Slow, but not too much″, Allegro ma non troppo to mean ″Fast, but not too much″ Maestoso – majestically, stately Molto – very meno – less Più – more Poco – a little Subito – suddenly Tempo comodo – at a comfortable speed Tempo di... – the speed of a ... (such as Tempo di valzer (speed of a waltz, ≈ 60 bpm or ≈ 126 bpm), Tempo di marcia (speed of a march, ≈ 120 bpm)) Tempo giusto – at a consistent speed, at the 'right' speed, in strict tempo Tempo primo – resume the original (first) tempo Tempo semplice – simple, regular speed, plainly French tempo markings Several composers have written markings in French, among them baroque composers François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau as well as Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Ravel and Alexander Scriabin. Common tempo markings in French are: Au mouvement – play the (first or main) tempo. Grave – slowly and solemnly Lent – slowly Moins – less, as in Moins vite (less fast) Modéré – at a moderate tempo Vif – lively Très – very, as in Très vif (very lively) Vite – fast Rapide – rapidly Erik Satie was known to write extensive tempo (and character) markings by defining them in a poetical and literal way, as in his Gnossiennes. German tempo markings Many composers have used German tempo markings. Typical German tempo markings are: Kräftig – vigorous or powerful Langsam – slowly Lebhaft – lively (mood) Mäßig – moderately Rasch – quickly Schnell – fast Bewegt – animated, with motion One of the first German composers to use tempo markings in his native language was Ludwig van Beethoven, but only sparsely. Robert Schumann followed afterwards with increasingly specific markings, and later composers like Hindemith and Mahler would further elaborate on combined tempo and mood instructions in