Crossword Genius

Having the freedom musically in Russia to join club for nothing (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rubato

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'having the freedom musically in russia' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'join club for nothing' is the wordplay.
'join' becomes 'ru' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'club' becomes 'bat' (as in sporting equipment).
'for' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'nothing' becomes 'O' (looks like zero - 0).
'ru'+'bat'+'o'='RUBATO'

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rubato that I've seen before include "Rhythmic flexibility" , "time variation" , "regardless of tempo" , "Distorted rhythm; our bat (anag.)" , "Departure from strict tempo; bar out (anag.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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