Rubato
A deliberate speeding up and slowing down of the tempo for expressive effect, while the underlying pulse stays intact in the player's mind.
Rubato means the performer borrows time in one place and gives it back in another, so the music breathes without losing its shape. It is most obvious in solo performance, where there is no rhythm section to hold a fixed tempo, and in classical and jazz ballad playing. Rubato only works when the underlying pulse is genuinely felt, since without it the slowing simply sounds like hesitation rather than expression.
Example: A solo guitar introduction that lingers over one chord before moving on, with no fixed beat, is played rubato.
See also
Related
- PageTempo
- PageFermata
- PagePhrasing
- PageAccent
- PageAction height
- PageAlternate picking
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley