A piacere
“At pleasure” — tempo and delivery are left to the performer's discretion.
What it means
A piacere means “at pleasure” and leaves the free shaping of tempo and expression within a passage to the performer. Like a capriccio, the marking lifts the strict tie to the beat.
In the notation
The marking appears as a verbal instruction above the staff, often over cadenza-like passages, brief solo insertions, or decorative runs that are not meant to have a fixed rhythmic relation to the surrounding meter.
Musical use
A piacere occurs mainly in solo contexts: in concerto cadenzas, free introductions, or brief improvisatory-sounding passages within an otherwise strict movement. It is closely related to markings such as a capriccio or ad libitum, without being fully identical to them.
Performance practice
Use the freedom given to shape the phrase according to your own musical sense, for example with a slight hesitation before a striking note or a free run-up to a climax. Return deliberately and clearly to the given tempo at the end of the passage, so the ensemble or the next phrase can follow securely.