Reddit mentions of Rhythmic Training

If you really want to learn how to program beats like Atoms for Peace you should start by studying rhythm and syncopation exercises. Their music is all about layering dense syncopated beats and comes from decades of practice. Before you can create beats like that you need to be able to conceptualize them in your head. It doesn't have to have anything to do with a drum set either. Here's a good book to start out with that you can do with just your hands and feet:

http://www.amazon.com/Rhythmic-Training-Instructional-Robert-Starer/dp/0881889768/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0FSV5N9M1P1CGCWSHHCH

After a while you'll start to hear recurring patterns in all the music you listen to and they will become easier to recreate and expand upon.

I think besides straight metronome practice getting a book like this might help https://www.amazon.com/Rhythmic-Training-Robert-Starer/dp/0881889768

Robert Starer also has a more basic book that you could purchase prior to this one, the premise of it is he gives you a bunch of rhythms slowly progressing to be more and more difficult and you should clap/tap them while counting out loud and do this away from the piano, it's possible that even though you're counting out loud while playing you might be getting carried away focusing on the melody causing you to slow down and speed up. If you do some of these exercises everyday away from the piano you'll develop a pretty good inner pulse and understanding of rhythm without needing a metronome.

It's also possible you just haven't mastered the hard parts thus making the whole piece unsteady and inconsistent in which I recommend playing the piece no faster than you can play the hard parts until you ramp up everything to the same tempo, it's way better being able to play the entire piece at an absurdly slow pace like quarter note =40 as apposed to playing the piece the at quarter note = 120 and dropping down to 86 then 100 then 95 or whatever if you get me.

HAhahahha.

I've got both of those books, and I'm doing almost exactly the same thing that you are! I added in the Rhythmic Training so that I could still be doing things related to music when I don't feel like unpacking my trombone.

I plan on finding/making some flashcards that have the slide positions and alternate ones too.

So. It sounds like we're in the exact same place, I think? There's that page in the front of the Rubank's method that you can use to walk through the exercises. We could maybe go through that and hold each other accountable?

This is pretty good! It's impressive you were able to work that out by ear.

If you can learn to read sheet music, that will really help you out a great deal. If one issue you have is reading rhythms, you need to use a counting system. (The system I use is described in this PDF.) An excellent resource for reading rhythms is the book Rhythmic Training, which you can get inexpensively, especially if you buy it used. (Edit: note that this book is for professional/college level musicians, so if you can't get all the way through, that is completely OK. But going through the first few chapters slowly and steadily and clapping the rhythms is probably a good idea.)

For reading notes on clefs, you kind of just have to do it. It takes a lot of practice and will be slow going at first, but will get easier. One book for piano that includes both the very basics of music theory and some things on technique is Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course. Maybe you could ask for Book 1 for Christmas, if you celebrate Christmas?

As far as technique goes, one thing I notice is that the index finger of your left hand is collapsing at the first knuckle (screenshot). That shouldn't happen. You might find this video (by piano professor John Mortensen) helpful on what your hand should look like when you play.

Good luck as you keep playing!