Talk:Tempo rubato

An example, especially in the form of a sound file would be greatly appreciated. —Vivacissamamente 02:57, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Rubato simply manifests itself as a deviation from the tempo, but adhering to the rhythm (e.g. a quarter note is a quarter note, an eighth is an eighth). For example, (because I'm currently playing this piece), Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel) by Billy Joel is full of rubato, and is played on the piano. The song slows down as you approach the end of vocal phrasing, and speeds up again at the start of the next. Tomstdenis 15:33, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

An interesting talking point is "Who invented Rubato?" Many musicians attribute it to Chopin, but I imagine that Beethoven may have hit upon it in his later Piano work. 82.31.140.174 (talk) 19:30, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Chopin did not invent rubato. In fact, he thought that musicians greatly overused it. I doubt that any single composer invented it; it probably just evolved to suit the music which was becoming ever more tempestuous and emotional. In a different subject, I take issue with the article's suggestion that rubato is no longer used, or that it was/is only used when playing the works of select composers. In fact, rubato is practically ubiquitous in classical performance, particularly in solo work, and is, alongside dynamics, probably the most important part of interpreting a classical piece. Just watch youtube for practically any performance and you will see rubato employed.