Advice on improving Rhythm

[takanari]

I'm playing Mozart Sonata in D K 284 2nd movement -andante-  I have problem keeping my rhytm.  If I play with metronome or tapping my foot it's okay but when I stop doing two of them, my rhythm and tempo all goes haywire.   Especially when there is a rest or a half note.  I can't count them to be precise. 

Can anyone pleaes give me some advice how to improve my rhythm not just this but overall.   I always have problem with rest and slow pieces

[ted]

Play more ragtime, swing, blues, jazz, pop, rock. Counting is at best an initial aid to getting started, an approximate guide for isolated situations. Rhythm at its finest is a deeply felt sensation which transcends notation. Also listen to other music with rhythm, not trying to count it but just feeling it. Imagine rhythms in your mind while you go about your daily business. I had always done this and it came as a surprise to find other people did not do it.

Improvise rhythms on any convenient subset of notes simple enough that you don't need to worry about what you are playing. And don't worry about the notation of the rhythms you invent; sometimes notation would be approximate or may not exist at all. In other words, don't play rhythms to fit an imagined notation. Then over time, you will be able to sense at once the rhythm a composer tried to capture in his notation, and will not require counting or other aids.

In fact, I think the improvisation of rhythms - constantly varying ones, don't grind the same ones day in and day out obviously, else you'll learn nothing - would be just about the most effective thing to do of all.

It will take time though, months and years rather than days and weeks.

[go12_3]

The rhythm has to come from within you.  Listen to the recording of the piece to get the feel of the music and rhythm.   Understanding what the mood of the piece helps with the rhythm. 
Try clapping your hands while listening.  Take your time in feeling the rhythm...I'm sure it will come within you.

[cjp_piano]

I agree with other posts. It's probably more an issue of feeling/counting the BIGGER structures of the meter and measures. If you can feel the downbeats, then you will "wait" the right amount of rests or long notes.

[takanari]

Thank you for every advices!  I will try everything out.  Thank you