_"What does rubato mean?"_ Well, this is a very easy question for us, romance language speakers, it means _stolen,_ it is the participle of the italian verb _rubare_ that means to steal. In Spanish it is _robar,_ as well as in Portuguese and in Catalan. You steal and then return tempo, that's the idea.
Robert says that Rubato is difficult to do, especially since someone should still be able to tap to the "big" beats to the piece. I agree with what he says, but I believe that if you feel like you should add more or less rubato, then go ahead and do it. You shouldn't sacrifice the emotion of the piece (which can only be channeled through your playing) because "keeping time." When you start to become aware of technical problems, that's when you lose your emotion and love for the music. This is why practice is key, because once you have the timing conditioned into you, you can play whatever piece with as much emotion as you want without becoming a technical worrywart with no emotion. Because in the end, you can add as much rubato as you want, but that can still sound emotionless when played without soul. Now it sounds like I'm discrediting this lesson. Robert gave a great lesson, I'm just making sure that people understand that just because there's rubato doesn't mean it creates soul. It's the player's soul that shines through when playing.
John Bonham, the drummer for Led Zeppelin was a master at this. He had such a keen sense of time that he could play behind and in front of the beat to create amazing funkiness. Bo Diddley liked to "turn the beat around" but I think that's different. Still funky as hell, but different. I never knew there was a name. Thank you for the wonderful lesson, professor and for your infectious zeal for learning.
It's less about control your hand and more about controlling your soul.Which is hard to do if you have a deep feeling for the way the music is meant to sound.
You are an amazing pedagogist, as the way you explain everything is clear and understandable. Also, you explain why and you use the right terms, I loved every second of the video
I really appreciate that! I owe a great deal to my father, Morton Estrin, who was a great pianist and teacher who had the ability to reduce complex ideas into simple terms.
Thank you for this, Robert! I’m a non musician who bought and loves an album by Terre Thaemlitz titled Oh, No! It’s RUBATO (the title and cover art are nods to Devo’s album Oh, No! It’s DEVO), and I was unfamiliar with the term. Half an hour of reading shed very little light on the subject (which I now think seems a rather elusive one, possibly even to many musicians), but your demonstration made it clear and brought it into sharp focus for me. I do appreciate it!
No one could sing Bellini or Verdi like Maria callas. Her Sense of legato, the push and pull off her rubato, the way her voice glides beautiful and easily over all the notes andit
That was really awesome. I personally had never heard of rubato, and this video was the first one to pop up. That was an excellent description and visual showing of what rubato is.
too many people just slow and speed the actual tempo when trying to do this. Im glad this was an accurate explaination and demonstration. Chopin himself said something along the lines of "when doing rubato, it is ESSENTIAL that the left hand ALWAYS remain in time" actual rubato is very difficult to do well
maestro Roy Sonne explains rubato very well and understandable,he says : Rubato means taking some freedom with the tempo, or stretching and bending the tempo, going a little slower or a little faster momentarily and then getting back into the groove, or getting back with the basic beat .
2:44 - Wow, I at first I was looking for 1/8 pulse but my intuition was suggesting large interval slower pulse, I thought I was missing something, I’m poor at music.... turns out I felt it as one should! :)
Great explanation, and perfect demonstration of it. Thanks. Someone described a person's playing as "rubato style". I didn't know what it meant, and now I do, and no, his playing most certainly wasn't rubato. There was no timing to it whatsoever.
Hehehe how Chopin influenced the world of music... U can learn the music but in Chopin case growing up in Poland it has deep roots in his soul which shows in his compositions. One should spend some time in Poland to find out its influences & connections. Chopin music is termented soul taken trough cycles of life...
What I really would love to hear is something you cannot find anymore today. Mozart and Chopin were pretty famous because they played Rubato only in the melody, while the arpeggios or accords played mostly with the left hand kept the original pace perfectly. Mozart actually wrote a letter to his father in which he was quite amused about his audience which was always astonished how he did it: „Daß ich immer accurat im tact bleybe. über das verwundern sie sich alle. Das tempo rubato in einem Adagio, daß die lincke hand nichts darum weiß, können sie gar nicht begreifen. bey ihnen giebt die lincke hand nach.“ Rather free translation: "That I always stay in the measure accurately, that's what puzzles them all. That the left hand never knows anything about rubato, they cannot understand it. When you listen to them, their left always surrenders" I would really love to hear a Mozart sonata played like this, where the left keeps the time and pace perfectly while the right speeds up, slows down and meets the left again. Especially since it was Mozart's own style of playing them according to his own words. But it seems that this technique is more or less lost in time and nobody trains to play like this anymore.
I actually thought the non-rubato version was more beautiful, less flowery. but i can see this technique could be really useful with vocal phrasing when singing. thank you.
Very good Mac exactly what I was looking for, have been teaching my self how to play guitar, while reading online for some tips I ran across this word a few times. Thank you :)
Thanks, Robert. This has really helped me to understand rubato. The next challenge is to actually try it on Tango esta noche which I am learning. Cheers, Bill
Wow. You play that nocturne very well, could you upload it please? Love your videos! I'm working on an easy Chopin waltz, that also uses rubato. Because I'm not experienced it's very useful to get such vital information, like keeping the pulse. Thanks!!
I might need to relearn every part, on metronome. Now I know rubato is a far more difficult technique than I imagined - not just play with the rhythm. Thanks again, I know for certain that this will help me put some life into my structureless playing :)
yep it does change the tempo of whom is using robato but its so fine that its too messy to notate, each bar is in the same place though but the beats in it are slightly delayed or ahead, keeping in time is still important and would need to have very good timing, Including activley having the ability to change tempo or time sigrature instantaniously
I can’t hear the difference lol. As long as you use the same time frames for each bars you can do whatever you want. I thought it was a lagging between left and right hand. Some pianist do which give it clearer articulation
Brilliant video and awesome playing - I have learnt a lot from it. But I have to disagree with you on some terminology - in 6/4 (Compound duple) - the "beat" is the dotted minim - the "pulse" is the crotchet.
What does it say about *me* if I prefer the first version, & the second makes me want to slide a pencil from one ear straight through to the other? I've noticed the same with other music - just never been able to put a name to it 'til now.
Norum; Vintage sounds, rough player, relatively low gain on Marhalls, 80% pentatonic scale and 20% neo-classical approach, heavily influenced bij Schenker and Moore. Kee Marcello; More into high-end and high-gain gear with lots of fx fitting the 80s/early 90s era. Refined played. Very technical and melodic using multiple scales but mostly loosely based on pentatonic, heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Gary Moore, Ollie Halsall. Both are great in their own ways.
Robert - This is an excellent example and beautiful playing. I think often purists take too literally Chopin's comment that the left hand must be played in strict metronomic time, all notes equidistant. The concept of the "macro" beat is very apropos. This reminds me--didn't Rubinstein ding Rachmaninoff for playing Chopin with "exaggerated rubato"? Perhaps it is the other way around...
Practicing with the metronome is a great way to develop pulse in your music. Playing with great musicians is tremendously helpful if that is a possibility. The piece is the first Chopin Waltz which is in B-flat minor.
my scrabble opponent played rubato so i had to find out what it meant.
lol
Lmao
You mean it's not a Styx song? Mr. Rubato (roboto)?
Stuff like this is so useful for those who don't have teachers.
***** Find a teacher! ;) Skype lessons are a thing!
Matthew Helm yes, but some can't afford or are in communities which have few. I'm a NYC dance teacher. Seen all situations.
Skype across states! (Or countries)
dont man dont waste money,
@No one cares not Zoomers, that's for sure!
_"What does rubato mean?"_
Well, this is a very easy question for us, romance language speakers, it means _stolen,_ it is the participle of the italian verb _rubare_ that means to steal. In Spanish it is _robar,_ as well as in Portuguese and in Catalan. You steal and then return tempo, that's the idea.
Wonder if the police catch you!! what a musical fine you have to pay in order they set you free 😂
@@Williamsmith42 😄 Yeah, but speakers of non-romance languages must remember that being ignorant of the law does not exempt them from liability 😂
In Portuguese is roubar instead of Spanish robar.
The closest phrase for Tempo Robato in english is "borrowed time"
Basically, robbed
Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Rubato.
That's what popped into my pea brain! LOL
LMAO
Rubato is something I never had a word for, but it's the key to musicality. I love how you play this Chopin piece.
This made me understand why I like Chopin so much. Thanks.
Robert says that Rubato is difficult to do, especially since someone should still be able to tap to the "big" beats to the piece.
I agree with what he says, but I believe that if you feel like you should add more or less rubato, then go ahead and do it. You shouldn't sacrifice the emotion of the piece (which can only be channeled through your playing) because "keeping time." When you start to become aware of technical problems, that's when you lose your emotion and love for the music.
This is why practice is key, because once you have the timing conditioned into you, you can play whatever piece with as much emotion as you want without becoming a technical worrywart with no emotion.
Because in the end, you can add as much rubato as you want, but that can still sound emotionless when played without soul.
Now it sounds like I'm discrediting this lesson. Robert gave a great lesson, I'm just making sure that people understand that just because there's rubato doesn't mean it creates soul. It's the player's soul that shines through when playing.
Like somebody once said "Learn everything you can, then forget about it and just play".
Pat I heard it was what someone said to Louis Armstrong, either way its the way to go.
Correct but you must realize that know one can teach this to anyone only explain it. have to find it on your own imo.
John Bonham, the drummer for Led Zeppelin was a master at this. He had such a keen sense of time that he could play behind and in front of the beat to create amazing funkiness. Bo Diddley liked to "turn the beat around" but I think that's different. Still funky as hell, but different. I never knew there was a name. Thank you for the wonderful lesson, professor and for your infectious zeal for learning.
Both versions sounded great. Previously unaware, rubato is now another obstacle to my goal of becoming a learned musician.
it seems kind of strange to view them as obstacles
Just dance more, then you will pick up the concept. Always improving while dancing.
First version still had Rubato. Second version maybe a little too much but what do I know :) I'm still learning...
Do you know how hard it is to play romantic pieces without a little rubato
I agree completely. But he's probably played that piece for like 20 years, it'd be sooo hard not to avoid a little rubato.
hah??? so easy
you don't know how to control ur hand?
It's less about control your hand and more about controlling your soul.Which is hard to do if you have a deep feeling for the way the music is meant to sound.
PutItAway101 well said!
You play this song better than any of the recordings I've heard. You ought to post a full version!
Word! 😁
1:52 no rubato
3:07 rubato
thanks for saving my time
Mark Hammil's father?
Even he speak a little bit Joker
You are an amazing pedagogist, as the way you explain everything is clear and understandable. Also, you explain why and you use the right terms, I loved every second of the video
I really appreciate that! I owe a great deal to my father, Morton Estrin, who was a great pianist and teacher who had the ability to reduce complex ideas into simple terms.
Rubato means 'robbed' - you are robbing a bit of time from one beat to add to another.
Lol
More like stolen actually but yes.
explained something in one sentence what this guy took 10 minutes for
Nice❤🖤
So romantic
Loving the poetic way you present your videos. Man, I can listen to you for hours after a hard day's work.
3:43 ""That's a lot better isn't it ?" it gets me every time 😂
Mr. Estrin you help so many people with your videos. You're a true music lover and a gifted teacher. Thank you kindly from Brazil.
Thank you for this, Robert! I’m a non musician who bought and loves an album by Terre Thaemlitz titled Oh, No! It’s RUBATO (the title and cover art are nods to Devo’s album Oh, No! It’s DEVO), and I was unfamiliar with the term. Half an hour of reading shed very little light on the subject (which I now think seems a rather elusive one, possibly even to many musicians), but your demonstration made it clear and brought it into sharp focus for me.
I do appreciate it!
I love the way you talk about music!
I have a music final tomorrow for music class. This helped a lot! Thanks for sharing. You play the piano incredibly.
No one could sing Bellini or Verdi like Maria callas. Her Sense of legato, the push and pull off her rubato, the way her voice glides beautiful and easily over all the notes andit
I still heard some rubato in the first one. :) Only a computer could play that with zero rubato.
Rachelle S. me too
i can play withouth rubato
@@labradog05 so? Metronomic playing makes you a robot, not an artist
@@Tkimba2 shut up, im just pointing out that i can play without rubato, bec thats human instinct to play in a beat
A lot even
great example - really illustrates the point and effect of Rubato. Very helpful indeed!
My favorite piano teacher. The first channel I came across that I really enjoyed regarding piano wisdom. Thanks, Robert.
Great explanation and enthusiasm
The rubato gives a dreamy feel and really makes the shorter notes sparkle.
Short, sweet and to the point. Thank you, best explanation I have ever heard. 👍
That was really awesome. I personally had never heard of rubato, and this video was the first one to pop up. That was an excellent description and visual showing of what rubato is.
You’re amazing sir
Rubato version sounded superb.
BRAVO
Thank you! This is so helpful. I like the idea of feeling the large beat.
Best ever explanation of the concept.Thank you Thank you
I can't imagine how hard that was to play without any rubato. lol
A great explanation and demonstration Robert - thanks SO much, and Aloha from Honolulu!
too many people just slow and speed the actual tempo when trying to do this. Im glad this was an accurate explaination and demonstration. Chopin himself said something along the lines of "when doing rubato, it is ESSENTIAL that the left hand ALWAYS remain in time" actual rubato is very difficult to do well
maestro Roy Sonne explains rubato very well and understandable,he says : Rubato means taking some freedom with the tempo, or stretching and bending the tempo, going a little slower or a little faster momentarily and then getting back into the groove, or getting back with the basic beat .
2:44 - Wow, I at first I was looking for 1/8 pulse but my intuition was suggesting large interval slower pulse, I thought I was missing something, I’m poor at music.... turns out I felt it as one should! :)
Never thought I would learn to play piano from Mark Hamill. Subscribed
domo arigato mr
oh I just got that joke haha nice one
LOL...clever.
I did a cover of this song a while back ago and I believe I added Rubato to it...I'm not sure but still a great lesson...Bravo!
INCONCEIVABLE!
Hahaha this made me lol for like 30 seconds :D
Zachary Perry
I'm glad someone got that reference :)
I see you are a man of culture as well
I was seriously trying to figure out who tf he reminded me of. Thank you.
🤣
Great explanation, and perfect demonstration of it. Thanks. Someone described a person's playing as "rubato style". I didn't know what it meant, and now I do, and no, his playing most certainly wasn't rubato. There was no timing to it whatsoever.
Beautifully explained, thank you!!
You have an excellent channel. And your approach brings an interest in learning. I commend your efforts and enthusiasm, Robert !!
Hehehe how Chopin influenced the world of music... U can learn the music but in Chopin case growing up in Poland it has deep roots in his soul which shows in his compositions. One should spend some time in Poland to find out its influences & connections. Chopin music is termented soul taken trough cycles of life...
Profound music! I had never heard that before. Thanks for turning me on to it--and for the "rubato" lesson.
good to see Luke Skywalker's brother is doing fine
I cried :,) so beautiful... makes me to wish to learn piano
I have just found this channel, this guy is awesome
Thanks, very valuable..
Thank you so much Robert. You play very well. ! I hope I can learn that piece soon.
What I really would love to hear is something you cannot find anymore today. Mozart and Chopin were pretty famous because they played Rubato only in the melody, while the arpeggios or accords played mostly with the left hand kept the original pace perfectly.
Mozart actually wrote a letter to his father in which he was quite amused about his audience which was always astonished how he did it:
„Daß ich immer accurat im tact bleybe. über das verwundern sie sich alle. Das tempo rubato in einem Adagio, daß die lincke hand nichts darum weiß, können sie gar nicht begreifen. bey ihnen giebt die lincke hand nach.“
Rather free translation:
"That I always stay in the measure accurately, that's what puzzles them all. That the left hand never knows anything about rubato, they cannot understand it. When you listen to them, their left always surrenders"
I would really love to hear a Mozart sonata played like this, where the left keeps the time and pace perfectly while the right speeds up, slows down and meets the left again. Especially since it was Mozart's own style of playing them according to his own words. But it seems that this technique is more or less lost in time and nobody trains to play like this anymore.
I actually thought the non-rubato version was more beautiful, less flowery. but i can see this technique could be really useful with vocal phrasing when singing. thank you.
I strongly agree that the non-rubato version was better. Chopin is so much more beautiful when you don't try to out-compose him.
isn't it the other way around? that's how i feel..
you are more free to sing on it
Blasphemy! 😉
You are such a great teacher....
Thanks a lot. Very well explained.
The first version had rubato still I think
crazy, crazy voice you got there, buddo
This is exactlt what I was looking for, thanks a lot!
Amazing difference great lesson!
Very good explanation and demonstration!
beautifully played and explained. Thanks!
Excellent! Thanks.
Basically, Rubato - A direction to the performer which allows freedom to change speed, thus more expression. 😀
You have an amazing talent! I wish I had carried on with learning Piano.
Very good Mac exactly what I was looking for, have been teaching my self how to play guitar, while reading online for some tips I ran across this word a few times. Thank you :)
Thank you very much for your excellent explanation!
Thanks, Robert. This has really helped me to understand rubato. The next challenge is to actually try it on Tango esta noche which I am learning.
Cheers, Bill
Thanks a lot. I really apreciate your explanation. All the best.
Superb advice.
Wow. You play that nocturne very well, could you upload it please? Love your videos! I'm working on an easy Chopin waltz, that also uses rubato. Because I'm not experienced it's very useful to get such vital information, like keeping the pulse. Thanks!!
I might need to relearn every part, on metronome. Now I know rubato is a far more difficult technique than I imagined - not just play with the rhythm. Thanks again, I know for certain that this will help me put some life into my structureless playing :)
Um... Did you just literally answer your own question? o_o
Great explaining! Now I know well about rubato
Thanks for the explanation and video!
Awesome, thanks!
Thank you for your detailed explanation. Could you please explain the phrase you used at 4:10: "mold the tempo to your wimp"?
Precise, accurate and balanced rubato truly brings a piece to life, extreme rubato, even if it is accurate, will kill a piece
Gracias por explicar lo que es el rubato
Good Playing!! I love Chopin..
yep it does change the tempo of whom is using robato but its so fine that its too messy to notate, each bar is in the same place though but the beats in it are slightly delayed or ahead, keeping in time is still important and would need to have very good timing, Including activley having the ability to change tempo or time sigrature instantaniously
Now that I know this, I can say rubato is all over the place in jazz
Awesome!! thank you!
I can’t hear the difference lol. As long as you use the same time frames for each bars you can do whatever you want. I thought it was a lagging between left and right hand. Some pianist do which give it clearer articulation
Great explaining!
Oh Thank You beautiful! Excellent example.
Now I understand what is rubato, thanks
Brilliant video and awesome playing - I have learnt a lot from it. But I have to disagree with you on some terminology - in 6/4 (Compound duple) - the "beat" is the dotted minim - the "pulse" is the crotchet.
Excellent video =) Thank you
Thank you, sir!
Does this have anything to do with "Free Time" style of playing?
Domo arigato for explaining rubato!
so Rubato allows you the savor the notes being played?
That’s a good way of putting it!
What does it say about *me* if I prefer the first version, & the second makes me want to slide a pencil from one ear straight through to the other? I've noticed the same with other music - just never been able to put a name to it 'til now.
Très intéressant. Et c'est clair... même pour ma petite connaissance de l'anglais !
Norum; Vintage sounds, rough player, relatively low gain on Marhalls, 80% pentatonic scale and 20% neo-classical approach, heavily influenced bij Schenker and Moore.
Kee Marcello; More into high-end and high-gain gear with lots of fx fitting the 80s/early 90s era. Refined played. Very technical and melodic using multiple scales but mostly loosely based on pentatonic, heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Gary Moore, Ollie Halsall.
Both are great in their own ways.
Robert - This is an excellent example and beautiful playing. I think often purists take too literally Chopin's comment that the left hand must be played in strict metronomic time, all notes equidistant. The concept of the "macro" beat is very apropos. This reminds me--didn't Rubinstein ding Rachmaninoff for playing Chopin with "exaggerated rubato"? Perhaps it is the other way around...
excellent
Very helpfull, as ever!
"the big beat" Perfect tip.
thank you, master luke [skywalker]
it was great Bach and his sons particularly CPE Bach who invented it like many other things...
Can someone please please give me advice on how I develop pulse?
Also what chopin song is that?
Practicing with the metronome is a great way to develop pulse in your music. Playing with great musicians is tremendously helpful if that is a possibility. The piece is the first Chopin Waltz which is in B-flat minor.