Playback Tempo problem

Does your score have linked parts? It could be #78416: Tempo text oddities in score with linked parts until save/reopen. If so, close and re-open the file.

What is the time signature of your piece? And can you post a copy of it so we can see if there's a specific problem?

The metronome mark numbering can be confusing when you are working in compound or unusual metres. (The program 'thinks' in quarter notes, even when the basic pulse unit of the metre being used is something else.) What happens when you enter a Tempo Text by typing ALT+T is that the program looks at the denominator of the time signature and inserts a default metronome mark based on that. So if you're in 3/2, it will give you a default 'half note=80'; if you're in 3/8 it will give you 'eighth note=80'.

You can change the number '80' manually after the text is inserted, but sometimes (for reasons which are not clear to me) that change doesn't seem to 'take' properly, and I have to override it in the Inspector (F8) and do the arithmatic to calculate the equivalent quarter-note metronome mark. For instance, for a piece in 9/8 to play back at 60 dotted-quarters to the minute, one would have to UNcheck the box marked 'Follow Text' and then set the tempo field in the Inspector to 90.

To override the default metronome mark basis note (quarter, half, whatever), use the F9 Tempo palette instead of the keyboard shortcut ALT+T. Click on the metronome mark that you want from the dropdown menu and drag it to the note (or rest) that begins the piece or section. Again, you can change the default '80' to the value you want. But as I said, sometimes this doesn't seem to take, particularly if you add other text ("Allegro moderato" or whatever) to the tempo text for descriptive purposes. If that happens, click on the tempo text, open the Inspector (F8), and override it as described above.

Lastly, you should be aware that the actual tempo can be modified on playback by adjusting the Tempo slider in the Play Panel (F11). If this slider is not set to 100%, the tempo you hear on playback will not be the tempo you have defined in the tempo text or the inspector.