Need help !

[lezales]

Ok so I'll explain my current situation in the next paragraph. If you want to skip to my actual precise question just skip this to the end of the post.

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So my name is Sam and I'm a 21 years old amateur keyboardist from Montreal, Canada. I've started piano when I was 15 or so and played it for a year and a half and then left classes to go self-taught. I've mostly played songs I liked at home (mostly metal) and was actually satisfied with my level (which is pretty bad actually, very poor skill for playing with both hands, no sight reading). But about a year and a half ago I started playing in a band and I really, really, enjoyed it. Playing music alone is one thing but with other people it's something else.

But things went on and I ended up in this group here which is filled with players of great talent. I've composed keyboard/piano tracks for their songs and they really, really liked what I did. I was supposed to go record my parts a month ago but the guitarist took me alone in the rehearsing room and had me play with a metronome. I panicked. I have really poor rythmic skills. So I started practicing my scales, arpeggios and runs with the metronome. It's going okay.

But I really have a lack of the rythmic side, I takes me a lot of time to actual feel the rythmic and any run that isn't all on the clicks (don't know how to explain in english) loses me. It's a progressive kind of group so there's odd times sometimes, there's some kind of tricky runs to count.
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So here is what I currently do for my daily exercises.
C harmonic minor scale, D harmonic minor scale, D major scale, D diminished scale, A harmonic minor scale. All those starting from 80 bpm up to 100 bpm.
C minor arpeggio, C dimished arpeggio, F minor arpeggio, F diminished arpeggio. All those starting from 100 to 120 bpm.
I do those scales and arpeggios in eighth notes.
Then I usually just jam on my keyboard for half an hour and then I practice que three songs I know from the band (which are like 8 minutes each) two of three times each.
Then I end up practicing specific riff with the metronome.

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So my problems are the following.

1) Do you have any tips, exercises or tricks I could use to get better at rythmic and with the metronome aside from doing my daily exercises with my metronome ? I really need to get better with the metronome and to be more tight when I play with the band. They won't be able to wait forever for me and I want to increase my level.

2) Here two runs I'm having trouble with.

The first one is because I kind of see the run visually by group of three sixteeth note, like the way it's played, but I have to count it in group of four.
So for now I play it at 80 bpm and really accentuate the notes on the beats and that's goes ok. But when I increase to the real speed of 100 bpm it's not going well...
The second one is going well technically but I'm having problems with the beats. After my first chord, the notes starts between two beats, which is a problem to me. I have a problem to feel that. I kind of cheat it and simply feel it after the 2nd beat

So I'd like advices for those riff in particular.

3) Also, I'm not often using my left hand, mostly for each chords. But I'm ok with that. My right hand is fairly quick but when we took a look at my playing we noticed my notes and not always even and I'd like to improve that aswell.

P.S: I've ordered the Hanon book.

Thanks in advance. I'm kind of panicking and it's really appreciated !

[bleicher]

Dancing helps your sense of rhythm, so you could take up salsa dancing or similar. Playing in an orchestra is also good, but I'm afraid that's not much help if you don't play an orchestral instrument! But maybe there is some kind of percussion group you could join, or you could sing in a choir which is great for your all-round musicianship.

In answer to those specific runs:
1. Just because you should be feeling the runs in groups of 4 semiquavers doesn't mean you should accent the first of each group of 4. Musical expression often requires that you accent off-beats - if I were playing that passage I would probably slightly accent it in groups of three. Practise it slowly, using your left hand to tap out the beat on your knee, or counting the beats aloud, while playing the right hand. Eventually you should be able to just feel the beat internally, regardless of which notes you are accenting. It does take practice, though.

2. Practising this passage while counting out loud may help. Say One-and-two-and-three-and-four-and while playing; obviously those groups of two semiquavers come on an 'and'. You'll have to do it slowly at first in order to co-ordinate doing both things at once, but it's worth persevering as counting out loud is a helpful way of practising tricky rhythms.

3. This question relates more to technique which other people on here can comment on at more length, or you can look at previous posts on here. Personally I think there's no replacement for a teacher in working on technique because they can supervise what you're doing and help out specific problems.

I hope this helps.

[quantum]

If your challenge lies mostly with rhythm, I would recommend isolating that element.  Scales and arpeggios are good, but you need to isolate even more to concentrate just on rhythm.  Work on clapping beat patterns.  Don't just use your hands, internalize the rhythm by involving your whole body.  March or dance to the beat while clapping rhythms, and vocalize the counting at the same time.  

Musicianship course books will have a whole bunch of rhythmic exercises you can clap, tap, and dance to.  An example below.  Don't be too put of by the price, I've seen these things go for $10 or less in second hand book stores, or buy it off a university student wanting to get rid of their stuff.  
https://www.amazon.com/Music-Sight-Singing-Robert-Ottman/dp/013070587X

Working on rhythm while playing scales or arpeggios may provide some sort of safety blanket - that is to say if the rhythm doesn't go right at least you have a pretty scale.  Try to avoid that, attack rhythm in its most raw form.  It will be hard at first, but you will thank yourself later when you can perform polyrhythms in 21/8 time.  

If you further wish to master rhythm have a look at Solkattu techniques.  

[njimenez4u]

Yeah just play it over and over and the beat is too hard find a way to mask it and cheat temperarily, but once you practice more and get comfortable try going back and fixing your problem, that way you wont worry aout it now.