Getting the right tempo

[faa2010]

Hello,

During almost all my life as pianist I have been dealing with many issues in my playing, but most of them, playing at the right tempo.

I have used metronome to get it, it takes a while and I get it, but after a while, I lose it and I have to get it from scratch.

Why is it very difficult?

How can I internalize the right tempo for a piece?

[j_menz]

Spend some time away from the piano. Play the piece in your head. Hum it, sing it. Walk to it. Dance to it. Swing your arms to it.

Once you can do that, go back to the piano and play it. Listen to your playing, and match it to your newfound version of it.

[iansinclair]

exactly.  And keep in mind that the tempo which feels right -- which makes the music sing for you -- is the right tempo for you for that piece.  The tempo marking -- say "andante" for example -- gives a range of tempi which the composer had in mind (assuming that that is the composer's marking).  On the rare occasions when the composer actually put down a metronome marking, perhaps it is worth trying to work on getting close to it, to see what he or she had in mind.

But at the end of the day it's what works for you.

[faa2010]

Update:  I have finally understood the basic dynamics with metronome.

What I also felt is that if I practice the piece with metronome during the first times, I can have a better understanding with the notes and finger position as well as sight-reading.

[walawala]

I also like to listen to recordings of the song I'm playing. If you listen to it enough, you can sort of mimic it and get a better understanding of it as a whole?

Good luck! You seem to have grasped it, so I don't know if my reply was necessary or not, haha.