<P> It is also possible to indicate a more or less gradual change in tempo, for instance with an accelerando (speeding up) or ritardando (rit., slowing down) marking . Indeed some compositions - for instance, Monti's Csárdás or the Russian Civil War song Echelon Song - are mainly composed of accelerando passages . </P> <P> On the smaller scale, tempo rubato refers to changes in tempo within a musical phrase, often described as some notes' borrowing' time from others . </P> <P> Composers may use expressive marks to adjust the tempo: </P> <Ul> <Li> Accelerando--speeding up (abbreviation: accel .) </Li> <Li> Allargando--growing broader; decreasing tempo, usually near the end of a piece </Li> <Li> Calando--going slower (and usually also softer) </Li> <Li> Doppio movimento / doppio più mosso--double speed </Li> <Li> Doppio più lento--half speed </Li> <Li> Lentando--gradual slowing and softer </Li> <Li> Meno mosso--less movement or slower </Li> <Li> Meno moto - less motion </Li> <Li> Mosso--movement, more lively, or quicker, much like più mosso, but not as extreme </Li> <Li> Più mosso--more movement or faster </Li> <Li> Precipitando--hurrying, going faster / forward </Li> <Li> Rallentando--gradual slowing down (abbreviation: rall .) </Li> <Li> Ritardando--slowing down gradually; also see rallentando and ritenuto (abbreviations: rit., ritard .) </Li> <Li> Ritenuto--slightly slower, but achieved more immediately than ritardando or rallentando; a sudden decrease in tempo; temporarily holding back . (Note that the abbreviation for ritenuto can also be rit . Thus a more specific abbreviation is riten . Also sometimes ritenuto does not reflect a tempo change but a character change instead .) </Li> <Li> Rubato--free adjustment of tempo for expressive purposes (literally "theft", so more strictly, take time from one beat to slow another) </Li> <Li> Stretto--in faster tempo, often near the conclusion of a section . (Note that in fugal compositions, the term stretto refers to the imitation of the subject in close succession, before the subject is completed, and as such, suitable for the close of the fugue . Used in this context, the term is not necessarily related to tempo .) </Li> <Li> Stringendo--pressing on faster (literally "tightening") </Li> <Li> Tardando--slowing down gradually (same as ritardando) </Li> </Ul>

What does 120 beats per minute sound like