I think it was in the early thirties that a piece was written by Hoagie Carmichael, it was basically in rag time. I've heard the original. It didn't work, but at a new tempo it became a classic called Stardust (and as Hoagie played it it wasn't the draggy smaltzy piece that it became later, it retained its upbeat, but lost its confusion).
Speed is not the criterion, expression is. Someone took the example of the dance, quite rightly. But there is a Scottish dance called the Strathspey that is slow and stately, but contains a "hop". The music would suggest a quick play, but the dance is slower. You all on this list have taught me the definition of "divisions", as a division of the main notes into many more (dare I call them embellishments). Could this suggest that the tempo of the piece might be based on a speed a bit less than virtuoso, and the divisions be the additions. Jazz does that, as someone suggested. Combinations and variations on a theme, but the theme itself yet at the pace of the dance or the ballad. Perhaps a way to assess the appropriate tempo would be to isolate the chord changes (leaving out the divisions) and find a pleasing tempo for them - then add in the divisions in the same tempo. Again, pardon a beginning lutenist for presuming to comment, but other than "The Flight of the Bumblebee" I know of few pieces that are dependant on speed of all the notes, and that was an exercise for a bit of fun. Expression and dynamics can give an impression of speed, even when the tempo is slower. Best, Jon
