When I listen to the midi recordings of my pieces that I feel I know fairly well I am bothered by the timing. They just do not have a steady beat and sound choppy to me. My internal metronome isn't anywhere close to keeping the beat on its own without using a metronome while playing.

I frequently practice with a metronome but it doesn't carry over to playing using my own instincts for the beat. I know you shouldn't play like a robot but I want to improve on getting closer to this steadiness.

you cannot trust your internal rhythm sense all the time, and therefore, use metronome to check on your tempo is very important.

i have trouble sometimes to keep the same tempo playing a piece even though i thought i did, and my teacher constantly insists on me playing with metronome. sometimes, my teacher was getting a little frustrated with me, and started counting loudly or clap his hands for me to get my attention.

Yes, there's nothing better than listening to the harsh reality of a recording to recognize timing problems. I will swear I'm playing a piece smoothly, only to be confronted with multiple hesitations upon listening to the recording.

Wish I had a magic bullet answer for you, joangolfing, but I think it all boils down to incessant practice with the metronome.

I guess I wanted a "magic bullet"!!! More practice is needed.

I agree, plus frequent reality checks with a recording device when you're not using the metronome.

My experience with the Zoom H4 is still quite limited, but it's been very useful for verifying whether the steady rhythmic pulse I imagine I'm keeping is accurate.

Hey, I have been a piano teacher all my adult life and my son in law is a concert pianist. We have decided between us that there is not a metronome made yet that really keeps steady time. They speed up, slow down, hesitate etc while you are playing than immediately switch back to a steady beat the moment your fingers leave the keys It is a plot to destroy yhr civilised world.
So it is not you, it is THEM, of course.
Iris

Ah, learn to dance! There's nothing like dancing - contras, folk, ballroom, etc - to get steady beats into your whole body, not to mention it's more fun than spending hours with a metronome (altho I use a metronome, too, on pieces I'm not familiar with, and I play mostly dance music). But I can imagine the dancers in my head and start out the band at 116 and keep us there (if the lead fiddle is listening ) thru a whole dance, without the metronome. Might work only for dance tempos, but it sure works for me -

Cathy

"We have decided between us that there is not a metronome made yet that really keeps steady time. They speed up, slow down, hesitate etc while you are playing then immediately switch back to a steady beat the moment your fingers leave the keys"
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Thanks for the ideas, I really thought there was something very wrong with me but reading this makes me feel normal.

More "incessant practice with the metronome."
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And then there's the timing of my golf swing to work on!!

Hi joangolfing,

I have the same problem. Your inner metronome is fine that's why you know you're off when you listen to your recording.

The problem is, we don't feel that inner metronome when we're playing. Our brain is too busy reading music and hitting the right keys.


Serge

Thanks Serge88,
---------------"I have the same problem. Your inner metronome is fine that's why you know you're off when you listen to your recording."------------

That explains it perfectly. I hadn't thought about that.

The outer metronome teaches your inner metronome. The more you practice with the outer metronome the better your internal metronome becomes.

Which is why Cathy's suggestion is also a good one. By dancing, you are training your inner metronome to feel the beat from the music. Your mind and body get accustomed to thinking about your movements while you are listening to the rhythm.

Try playing in an ensemble. This will help keep your internal metronome steady because you'll have to think and listen to the music carefully in order to play along with other people.

For some extra help try:

1) Counting out loud with the metronome and without the metronome.

This will help reinforce the steady time into your mind and fingers.

2) Really try listening to yourself while playing, and not afterwards with a recording device.

This means listening to the music at the piano while playing it. Feel and hear the music and not the individual notes. If you're only concentrating on the individual notes, your brain begins to wander, even a little bit, and then there are hesitations, hiccups, missed beats, etc.

If you think the music through, and listen to your "internal recording" you should be able to keep the music steady.

John