Rubato and Free Time

In today's article, I discuss a recent conversation with Tom Hess and Diana de Cabarrus about how to amplify emotion in rhythm guitar playing. 

Tom Hess opened by talking about Rubato. He explained that he was stretching the time, pushing forward, playing faster, and then pulling back, creating more rhythmic density. In effect, he was changing the density through the use of Rubato. 

An example he gave was the intro to the song "Diary of a MadMan". The song can be played straight with simple 8th notes, which sounds cool because the chords are cool. Tom Hess expressed that, in his opinion, it is cooler to add two techniques. Dynamics are more significant by playing louder and softer. Still, the rhythm, the speeding up and pulling back, known as Rubato, adds more interest and tension. Using Rubato makes the emotions that already exist in those chords and exaggerates them. It is like plugging the chords into an amplifier and turning the amp up like an emotional amplifier. 

The way Tom Hess thinks about rubato dynamics is that they amplify the emotions that are already in harmony. It is a very cool effect, and Randy Rhoads (guitarist in Ozzy Osborne's band) used it very well in "Diary of a Madman." 

Free time is different from Rubato. You can freely play however you wish. It is difficult to lock down and determine the tempo. No one knows what is coming because the tempo is all over the place. When using free time, all bets are off. You can do whatever you want, offering more freedom than Rubato. The advantage of Rubato over free time is that with Rubato, there's more for the listener to latch on to. A longer pattern of time equates to a longer expectation in the listener's mind. Between each measure, the listener may not know what you are going to do. They won't know how fast you're going to speed up or how fast or slow you will pull back. Because they may not know this, it holds their interest and makes it sound so interesting. They know there's a pattern there but are still determining how you will manipulate it. 

In free time, there is no rhythmic pattern to latch onto, and you risk losing the listener's interest. Their brain is seeking a pattern and can't find it. 

Diana agreed that solo performers can exploit Rubato and should exploit it more than they probably do. When playing by yourself, you lack the resources of a band to create some of these contrasts. However, you could do as much Rubato as you want because you won't throw off other people you're playing with. 

In the classical or romantic era, you would find Rubato much more in the romantic period. The players rely on the conductor, who is conducting the entire orchestra, to use Rubato based on how he's conducting the beat. Everyone has to pay attention; everyone has to really listen and watch that conductor. In a band, you generally don't have a conductor at the front of the stage to conduct the band. However, someone, perhaps the guitar player or the drummer, is leading the beat. You often hear Rubato at the end of rock tunes or live performances where everything slows down, especially the last song. There may be a big bombastic ending, and the drummer will do all the accents and fills. At this point, everyone in the band is or ought to be looking at the drummer to know when that last hit is coming. The drummer will tell you when the hit is and you have to match your hit to whatever he's doing. The drummer fills the role that a conductor would when time is being sped up, slowed down, or stretched. 

Anyone in the band can fulfill this role. In the case of guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen and his band, he is the conductor. He is not looking at the drummer; instead, he tells the drummer, "You look at me." The role is the same, and he visually shows the band a signal for the last hit. They're all queuing on him. Rubato can be done with an ensemble and a band as long as all members are aware of what's happening and are paying attention and watching. 

Remember to always have fun with your guitar and I’ll see you next time….

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About Mark Turko: Mark Turko is a professional guitar player and instructor with over 30 years of experience and teaches guitar lessons online.