The Art of Rubato: The Musical Expression of Tempo

Have you ever wondered why some music slows down and speeds up in certain places?  You're not alone!  Rubato is easily the most elusive subject within the realm of learning or teaching music.  In fact, previously, rubato hadn't been broken down into a comprehensive set of simple, logical concepts that make it easy to use, analyze or teach.  That's exactly what this course does.

With the help of over 140 examples of real performances, music professionals and amateurs alike will learn:

• The purpose of rubato

• The four properties of rubato (direction, location, duration, and intensity)

• The four qualities of music expressed by rubato (beauty, difficulty, surprise, and importance)

• The five types of rubato (harmonic, melodic, structural, dynamic, and rhythmic) and several subcategory types

• The three behaviors of compound rubato (joined, nested, and coinciding)

• (Bonus content)  History, critique, and pedagogy about rubato

There is reason and logic behind everything we do in music.  In The Art of Rubato, you will discover that rubato is no exception to this rule!

Those without much musical background will understand and gain a lot from this course, and those with a masters or doctorate in music will understand even more!  Throughout the course, an occasional comment here and there may go over the amateur's head, but these detailed musical comments are never critical to understanding the most important, core principles.

"As a concert pianist, college professor and piano teacher myself, the issues surrounding the fluctuation of tempo are paramount and ubiquitous in my work, and I have given the matter a great deal of thought over the years.  But until I was introduced to Chad's work, I had never considered rubato in quite such an organized way or, in fact, that something so subtle and sense-based was capable of being discussed in a thorough, rational, and insightful way."   - Hans Boepple, Santa Clara University

"Ingenious!"  - Joy Morin, piano teacher and author of Color in My Piano blog