Unsteady beat and dynamics - poor musicality

[eueueu91]

I'm 20 and been playing the piano for some 5 years and, according to my teacher, I am technically quite good (I disagree, maybe he means it on relative terms), but have almost no musicality (this I agree with).

I have a quite serious problem with keeping a steady beat; I always tend to accelerate (I myself do not realize I'm changing the pace, I know that only through my teacher's advice).
Curiously, sometimes I try tapping my left foot in the hope of helping my rhythm, but in the end my foot taps the beat correctly but my hands go completely out of sync with it, and I don't even notice that - in fact, I can't even reproduce it consciously.
I've started playing with a metronome and have been getting better at following its lead, but as soon as I turn it off my rhythm starts going astray.

Another issue my teacher recently detected is that my dynamics are just as irregular as my rhythm; my phrases do not follow a correct development of dynamics (instead of, for example, growing and fading, they remain at a given level and than suddenly go ff or pp). I partly ascribe that to technical issues with hitting the keys with the right pressure and partly to not knowing what sort of dynamic curve would sound better.

To sum it up: I can hit the right keys with not much effort, but not in the right time nor the right strength.

My problem, in my opinion, is a chronic lack of musicality; ever since I played the guitar when I was younger I wasn't able to learn a piece by ear, while my brother did it very effortlessly. I also can't improvise, never could, and only seldom, mostly before falling asleep, can I "compose" a song (only mentally though); most of the time I don't even have any song playing in my head.

I'm aware psychology plays a big role in causing this lack of musical expression, but aside from suggesting me to see a psychologist, what should I do to solve these issues?

[chopin2015]

5 years is not a long time.
 I think you should stop putting things in your head and keep practicing with a metronome. ALSO
I have a great idea. Do you listen to others play the pieces you are working on? This may help solidify your understanding of how the piece is supposed to flow and the tempo you should play at, why don't you try that and give each piece a couple of listens, tap along to them, imagine yourself playing them...etc.

[j_menz]

Your problem is that you are just playing the notes and do not have a conception of the music you are playing.

What can you do about this?

Away from the piano, go through the music in your head, humm it, sing it, drum out a rhthym for it. Get a clear idea of what it sounds like as music.

Listening to different versions of others playing the piece may be of some help, too.

Then, back at the piano, concentrate on making it sound like that. Experiment. Make it sound sad, make it sound happy, swing it. Play around with it as music. Then create it as you want it to sound.

This is not an instant fix, btw. It will take time and practice.  Persevere.

[eueueu91]

@chopin2015

Yes, I always listen to different interpretations of the pieces I play. It indeed helps me understand the song, but I feel the preliminar personal interpretation I develop from listening to others playing it sometimes negatively affects my ability to play it musically, with both coherent tempo and dynamics. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, I don't really know how to put it in words.

5 years is not a long time, but by now I should have developed a sense of rhythm and of musicality, even disconsidering the fact that most people have it intrinsically and I apparently don't.

@j_menz

That's a nice idea, I'm gonna try it.


Thank you both.

[chopin2015]

Other suggestions:
Play guitar, mess around on drums
Check out this website
https://f.unkster.tripod.com/polyrhythm.html
Listen to JAZZ
Jam in a band
Listen to a clock, wear a watch(make sure it has roman numerals)

...

[rachmaninoff_forever]

To add on to what J Menz is saying, when you're playing, pretend that you're conducting.

[j_menz]

To add on to what J Menz is saying, when you're playing, pretend that you're conducting.

But don't wave your hands about. 

[ajspiano]

But don't wave your hands about. 

Unless you're lang lang?

[j_menz]

Unless you're lang lang?

Especially if you're Lang Lang. 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Especially if you're Lang Lang. 

I saw Lang Lang and he didn't really do all of that. 

He played a REALLY LONG Bach Partitia and another REALLY LONG schubert piece. 

I mean, I don't have anything against his choice, except Bach, but he should have separated the two.  So I thought that before the intermission, it was kinda boring.

[ajspiano]

I saw Lang Lang and he didn't really do all of that. 

hmmmmmm.

only for high profile photographed/filmed performances..?

[j_menz]

I saw Lang Lang and he didn't really do all of that. 

He played a REALLY LONG Bach Partitia and another REALLY LONG schubert piece. 

I mean, I don't have anything against his choice, except Bach, but he should have separated the two.  So I thought that before the intermission, it was kinda boring.

Partita No1 is not that long, and Schubert D960 is only long if you can't do it justice. If you can, it is never long enough. Even before intermission.

[outin]

I'm 20 and been playing the piano for some 5 years and, according to my teacher, I am technically quite good (I disagree, maybe he means it on relative terms), but have almost no musicality (this I agree with).

IMO technique IS being able to play musically. So I find your teacher's comment a bit odd. I also feel your teacher should be the one addressing the issue and helping you with it. I hope he hasn't been teaching you for the 5 years because rhythm should be one of the first things to teach.

I recently read a book by Gary Marcus called "Guitar Zero. The new musician and the science of learning". It's about someone who is considering himself completely unmusical and who learns to play the quitar quite well. That might be something to motivate you further.

[hfmadopter]

One thing not mentioned is since the notes come easy to you, does your mind wander ? In other words, you are playing but your mind is say on a trip to town for some shopping or some such thing. I can't imagine if you really are paying attention you can't notice that by the end of the piece your hands are flying over the keys and they weren't when you started the piece.

And I do agree that your teacher should be helping you straighten out your rhythm and be getting you some what on the right track with expression.

There are some people who can play technically but not make beautiful music. I think it can be cured if the desire is there to cure it !

[counterpoint]

I'm 20 and been playing the piano for some 5 years and, according to my teacher, I am technically quite good (I disagree, maybe he means it on relative terms), but have almost no musicality (this I agree with).

Teachers should never say, the student lacks musicality!
Perhaps the playing lacks musicality, but that's a thing, that can be worked on.
People who are interested in music ARE musical. Otherwise they weren't interested in music.

[mikeowski]

I'm suspecting, correct me if I'm wrong, that you getting faster comes from certain passages that you're not feeling secure enough to play well, so you try to rush through them and then stick to that tempo for the following measures, maybe slightly slowing down, until you reach another hard passage.
A solution to this would be to play through the piece at home and try to identify, where you are rushing and then, again, slow down enough
(which is a cosiderably big amount of slowing down most of the time, maybe to like 30 bpm or slower, so that you feel really comfortable with it, I can't stress that enough. Imagine that's actually the speed the piece is supposed to be played in)
so that you can play it easily. Then try to speed up gradually.

Again, if my analysis is wrong, don't mind what I said.

Also, terms like musicality and such, that suggest, that music is something mostly talent-based, are bogus. Anything can be learnt by pretty much anyone, when done right.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Partita No1 is not that long, and Schubert D960 is only long if you can't do it justice. If you can, it is never long enough. Even before intermission.

How did you know that was the program?!

[rachmaninoff_forever]

hmmmmmm.

only for high profile photographed/filmed performances..?

No dude seriously!  I've seen him on youtube, and he's like freaking out and stuff.  But when I saw him, he was pretty complacent.

[davidjosepha]

No dude seriously!  I've seen him on youtube, and he's like freaking out and stuff.  But when I saw him, he was pretty complacent.

The way he looks when playing forcibly reminds me of this video.

[eueueu91]

Thank you all, I'm gonna try your suggestions as soon as I can.

In defence of my teacher, he did not really directly state I am not musical, but that my phrases are not musical, and that is quite true. I've been having classes with him for most of that time and all along he's been insisting on improving my rhthmic problem - not really with specific exercises, but advising me to always play with the metronome, which helps, just not much after I turn it off.

An interesting (but most likely irrelevant) discovery I've made is that I process rhythm much more on the left brain hemisphere than on the right one, which is (according to my online research) where rhythm is normally processed. Listening to a metronome on only the right ear allowed me to follow the beat much better than when I listened to it on the left ear, or even both (using my piano's built-in metronome).

[outin]

Have you been doing any clapping/counting exercises? Because if you can play along the metronome but not keep rhythm without it, it seems like you are neglecting to practice this part or musicality. Which I am certain you would learn with the right kind of exercises. I don't think using the metronome is the right way to address this. I also think your teacher should not let you get away with it when playing your pieces but insist that you work to correct it.

[j_menz]

How did you know that was the program?!

Omniscience.  Comes in handy at times.