Rubato, the key to true beauty

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RUBATO:
"Understanding a Musical Skill that Really Can't Be Taught
For a pianist who's studied classical and jazz--learning how to master the art of Rubato is one of the biggest challenges they'll ever face next to mastering a sense of tone. Sure, you non-musicians probably sit and wonder what in the heck I'm talking about when technique should be considered first in things you need to master. Well, no, not really. Anybody can build technique within weeks if they do enough Hanon exercises to warrant getting carpal syndrome. A lot of intelligent musicians realize that technique only dazzles people on a superficial level if not even mattering in the bigger picture. When you can create a masterful sense of tone and create an intelligent sense of Rubato to give added dimensions to a classical, jazz (or any) piece--you're more likely to be designated an artist.

So what does that mysterious Italian word Rubato mean? It means "stolen time" in English--and seems easy to explain, but really isn't. In the simplest terms, it means going behind and ahead of the meter in a piece so the piece becomes multi-dimensional rather than seeming deliberately mechanical. It also means slowing down and speeding up certain passages, which is basically the same thing as lagging behind or ahead of the beat.

Mind you, when people attempt to do it for the first time on an instrument or while singing (especially musicians used to strict counting on the beats)--they frequently get thrown off on the time or accompaniment. It's something you have to either feel or mimic rather than a teacher sitting and explaining any kind of workable theory behind it. That's not to say that there aren't numerous books on the market that attempt to teach it to those who just don't have a clue how to demonstrate the technique. The only way to really learn it intuitively is to hear other pianists and singers demonstrate it. And the best place to start there is listening to a master playing Chopin on the piano

You've undoubtedly heard the term bantered around in association with Frederic Chopin's name. He was one of the first from the Romantic Era to use elements of Rubato to a pronounced degree in most of his works. It's no secret that the utilization of the technique in his works made people declare Chopin one of the greatest musical poets of his age. The minute you hear one of his miniatures (a Nocturne) or one of his grand scale pieces (a Polonaise or Etude)--you'll hear a lot of "robbed time" (as another apropos phrase to describe the process) in every passage. You'll discover that the technique gives his pieces true shape and dimensions that actually gives the sense of music becoming a living entity in the same room with you.

It should be noted that Chopin usually set up his sense of Rubato by making the left hand part of his works have a steady rhythm--and then allowing the right hand to be free to explore the give and take on the time and tempo.

In the pop world, there was only one masterful singer who could demonstrate how that works the most effectively in the vocal world...if you dare copy it to a probable unsuccessful level. If Fred can't teach you to do it right, then give a listen to...

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