Linear phrasing: 1
The first step to linear phrasing is to develop a strong rhythmic sense based on the subdivisions in every beat.
Why is it important to feel the subdivisions?
Because when you accelerate or retard, the subdivisions will prevent you from doing sudden accelerandos or ritardandos.
This is important to note.
When you do rubatos, you should always do it in reference to a beat. In other words, the beat should always be in the background.
As you accelerate, the pulse should increase proportionately and organically in relation to the beat.
I have written about this before but a short recap.
Think of rhythm as something that exists outside of us. We have no control over it.
What we feel as rhythm is just our response to this external rhythm which we might call universal rhythm.
Imagine you are driving on a highway.
On one side of the highway are telephone poles (slightly outdated analogy).
Imagine that as you drive past each pole, you could hear an audible click.
When you speed up, the clicks will occur faster, when you slow down, they will occur slower.
The distance between the poles hasn’t changed. What had changed is your speed. Our driving speed is our response to the universal rhythm represented by the telephone poles.
We can use the same analogy to explain how to do natural organic rubatos.
Rubatos should always occur naturally and organically, never suddenly.
A piano teacher once told me to imagine a train pulling out of or into a station.
When a train slows down or speeds up, it doesn’t do it suddenly; it does it gradually and organically.
That is the basic principle behind any rubatos.
How do you develop a strong sense of subdivisions?
You practice them by externalizing them. The best way is to tongue each subdivision and make your playing follow those subdivisions.
This is the concept of establishing an independent source of rhythm and making your playing follow that rhythmic source.
As opposed to just letting your playing produce the rhythm for you.
All this is hard to explain in words so I will be posting a series of videos to explain all these concepts.
So the first step towards linear phrasing is to develop a precise rhythmic sense based on the subdivisions.
This may take time and a lot of patience.