Positions of tempo marks

Tempo marks are placed above the staff and at the same positions as other system objects, because they usually apply to all staves. They are placed above notations such as slurs, ties, and octave lines, and are often aligned with rehearsal marks to ensure clear readability.

Tempo marks should be aligned with either a time signature or the notehead/rest at the rhythmic position to which they apply. For example, if there is a notehead with an accidental at the rhythmic position of a tempo mark, it is convention to align the tempo mark with the accidental.

If a repeat mark occurs mid-system and is not treated as a barline, tempo marks are aligned with the repeat mark.

When a tempo mark includes both text and a metronome mark, the text appears first, followed by the metronome mark. When horizontal space is tight, the metronome mark can be positioned below the tempo mark text.

You can move tempo marks to different rhythmic positions in Write mode. They are automatically positioned to avoid collisions.

Tempo marks are categorized as system objects in Dorico Elements, which you can show above the first bracket of selected instrument families. You can change the instrument families above which system objects appear in each layout independently, for example, if you want tempo marks to appear at multiple vertical positions in each system in the full score only.