Free

What it means

Frei (“free”) calls for a performance without strict tempo: the tempo may be stretched and pressed, the phrases determine the course, not the beat. The German marking corresponds to the Italian a piacere, ad libitum, or tempo rubato.

Freedom does not mean arbitrariness here. What is meant is that the shaping is handed over to the performer, not that there would be no order — the phrases, the harmony, and the text continue to prescribe where stretching and pressing are possible.

The counterpart is tempo giusto, which expressly demands strictness. In many pieces the two attitudes alternate and thus mark the difference between recitative-like and metrically bound sections.

In the notation

The word stands above the staff at the beginning of the section concerned and applies until a marking such as “in tempo” or a tempo. It is often found over introductions, cadenzas, and recitative-like passages. Some editions dispense with bar lines in such sections or set them dashed.

Musical use

Free sections stand where the music speaks instead of striding: in recitatives, in preludes and fantasias, in cadenzas of concertos, in introductions that sketch a mood. Free shaping is also widespread in folk music and in instrumental arrangements of songs. In the music of the nineteenth century it is part of the self-evident performance of many genres.

The instruction calls for a performance without strict metre, similar to a recitative or a cadenza. It allows stretchings, accelerations, and pauses according to expression. The performer shapes the course according to the sense of the phrase. Its Italian equivalent is liberamente.

Performance practice

Prepare the liberties instead of looking for them in the moment: a planned rubato sounds more convincing than an accidental one. Orient yourself on harmony and phrase structure — where tension arises, time may be taken. Keep an inner pulse, even when you depart from it. And coordinate in the ensemble, for freedom for one means responsibility for all.