a flexible tempo; not strictly on the beat
Changing the tempo slightly in places for musical effect. The temp itself shouldn't change, because as time is taken away from some places, it should be given back.
"robbed time," altering the beat and tempo for effect
Taking a little more time on some notes for musical expression
a freedom of tempo with the intent of making the music more expressive
The action or practice of temporarily disregarding strict tempo during performance: having certain notes arbitrarily lengthened while others are correspondingly shortened, or vice versa.
Freely : The expression of musical statements without the use of a fixed tempo.
"Borrowed time", common in Romantic music, in which the performer hesitates here or hurries forward there, imparting flexibility to the written note values. Also tempo rubato.
roo- bah-toh] (Italian) "Robbed." Also tempo rubato ("robbed time"). The practice of performing music in a flexible, instead of strict tempo. Rubato is one of the more controversial issues in musical performance, as its precise manner of execution cannot be precisely notated. However, the "appropriate" application of rubato is often considered to be a sign of the "musicality" of a performer. What sounds like "musical" rubato to one listener may sound overdone and distorted by another.
The intentional speeding-up and slowing-down when performing music.
(''It.'') – "stolen" – Flexibility of tempo within a musical phrase for expressive effect. Common in Romantic music.
The term used to denote flexibility of tempo to assist in achieving expressiveness.