Dear Herbert, Stewart and All:
I don't ditch the metronome when I want to play freely. I just play as
freely and expressively as I can while still keeping within the general
tactus. I don't think there is a contradiction here! See the recent
interview with Bob Barto in the Lute Society (UK) magazine. Bob was the
first teacher I had that really called me on the tempo issue.
I recall, in a book about Pablo Casals, an encounter with a student who
wasn't playing in time, and Casals pointed it out. The student said, "But
I'm fantasying!" Casals said: "Fantasy as much as you like. In time."
Yours,
Jim
