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Tempo rubato (Italian for 'stolen time'; UK: , US: , Italian: [ˈtɛmpo ruˈbaːto]; 'free in the presentation') is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Rubato is an expressive shaping of music that is a part of phrasing.While rubato is often loosely taken to mean playing with expressive and rhythmic freedom, it was traditionally used specifically in the context of expression as speeding up and then slowing down the tempo. In the past, expressive and free playing (beyond only rubato) was often associated with the terms "ad libitum". Rubato, even when not notated, is often used liberally by musicians, e.g. singers frequently use it intuitively to let the tempo of the melody expressively shift slightly and freely above that of the accompaniment. This intuitive shifting leads to rubato's main effect: making music sound expressive and natural. Nineteenth century composer-pianist Frédéric Chopin is often mentioned in the context of rubato (see Chopin's technique and performance style and his adaptation of the bel canto idiom). The term rubato existed even before the romantic era. In the 18th century, rubato meant expressing rhythm spontaneously, with freedom. In many cases, it was achieved by playing uneven notes. This idea was used, among others, by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. In addition to that, Leopold Mozart claimed that the accompaniment should remain strictly in tempo.In the mid 18th century, the meaning of rubato began to change gradually. People were using the term as being able to move notes freely back and forth. Johann Friedrich Agricola interpreted rubato as "stealing the time".As time moved on to the 19th century, rubato became recognized slightly differently. In Chopin's music, rubato functioned as a way to make a melody more emotional through changing the tempo by, for instance, accelerando, ritenuto and syncopations. Chopin "often played with the melody subtly lingering or passionately anticipating the beat while the accompaniment stayed at least relatively, if not strictly, in time". In this case, rubato is used as a concept of flexibility of tempo for a more expressive melody. Types One can distinguish two types of rubato: in one the tempo of the melody is flexible, while the accompaniment is kept in typical regular pulse (yet not rigidly in mechanical fashion; but adjusting to the melody as necessary—see below). Another type affects melody and accompaniment. While it is often associated with music of the Romantic Period, classical performers frequently use rubato for emotional expressiveness in all kinds of works. Tempo rubato (or a tempo rubato) means literally in robbed time, i.e., duration taken from one measure or beat and given to another, but in modern practice the term is quite generally applied to any irregularity of rhythm or tempo not definitely indicated in the score.The terms ad libitum, (ad lib.), a piacere, and a capriccio, also indicate a modification of the tempo at the will of the performer. Ad libitum means at liberty; a piacere, at pleasure; and a capriccio, at the caprice (of the performer). A tempo rubato. Lit. "in robbed time", i. e. time in which, while every bar is of its proper time value, one portion of it may be played faster or slower at the expense of the remaining portion, so that, if the first half be somewhat slackened, the second half is somewhat quickened, and vice versa. With indifferent performers, this indication is too often confounded with some expression signifying ad libitum. The opinion given by Tom S. Wotton, that "every bar has its proper time value" may be regarded as an inaccurate description: Karl Wilson Gehrkens mentions "duration taken from one measure [...] and given to another" which implies bars of differing duration. Rubato relates to phrasing; and since phrases often go over multiple bars; it is often impossible (and also not desired) for each bar to be identically long. Early twentieth century Early twentieth-century rubato seems to be very eventful. Robert Philip in his book Early recordings and musical style: Changing tastes in instrumental performance, 1900-1950 specifies three types of rubato used at that time: accelerando and rallentando, tenuto and agogic accents, and melodic rubato. Accelerando and rallentando Late 19th century dictionaries of musical terms defined tempo rubato as "robbed or stolen time." This effect can be achieved by a slight quickening of speed in ascending passages, for instance, and calando on descending phrases. Ignacy Jan Paderewski says that tempo rubato relies on "more or less important slackening or quickening of the time or rate of the movement." Many theoreticians and performers claimed at that time that the "robbed" time must be eventually "paid back" later within the same measure, so that the change of tempo would not affect the length of the measure. However, the balance theory caused controversy, as many theoreticians dismissed the assumption that the "stolen" time should necessarily be "paid back." In the third edition of Grove's Dictionary we read: "The rule has been given and repeated indiscriminately that the "robbed" time must be "paid back" within the bar. That is absurd, because the bar line is a notational, not a musical, matter. But there is no necessity to pay back even within the phrase: it is the metaphor that is wrong."Paderewski also discarded this theory saying: "(...) the value of notes diminished in one period through an accelerando, cannot always be restored in another through a ritardando. What is lost is lost."Some theoreticians, however, rejected even the idea that rubato relies on accelerando and ritardando. They were not recommending that a performance should be strictly metronomic, but they came up with a theory saying that rubato should consist of tenuto and shortened notes. Tenuto and agogic accents The first writer who extended the theory of "agogics" was Hugo Riemann in his book Musikalische Dynamik und Agogik (1884). The theory was based on the idea of using small changes of rhythm and tempo for expression. Riemann used the term "agogic accent", by which he meant accentuation achieved by lengthening of a note. The theory found many supporters. J. Alfred Johnstone called the idea of agogic accents "quasi tempo rubato." He also expressed his appreciation for this theory, saying that "modern editors are coming to recognize it as one of the important principles of expressive interpretation." In his illustration of agogic accents in the Mendelssohn's Andante and Rondo Capriccioso op. 14, Johnstone explains, that even though the rhythm consists of equal quarter notes, they should not be played the same length; the highest note of the phrase ought to be the longest while other notes shortened proportionally. One of the musicians known for using agogic accents in their pla.... Discover the Karl Wilson Gehrkens popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Karl Wilson Gehrkens books.