A capriccio
“At whim” — free in expression and tempo, without strict adherence to the beat.
What it means
A capriccio means “at whim” or “capriciously.” The marking allows the performer to depart from strict time and shape both tempo and expression according to personal feeling.
In the notation
A capriccio appears as a verbal instruction above the staff, often in place of a fixed metronome marking or alongside a tempo word to loosen its strict interpretation.
Musical use
The term relates to the capriccio genre, a whimsical, often virtuosic instrumental piece that resists formal rules. As a performance direction, a capriccio carries this same free, unpredictable character over into individual passages within a larger work.
Performance practice
Use the freedom given to shape tempo and emphasis according to your own musical feeling, without losing the piece's underlying structure. In ensembles, a capriccio calls for close coordination, since everyone must follow the same free line together.