On the metronome btw, When I think about it now, I am actually more accurate than my mother who learned classical piano On the how do they know above, in spite of this "timing superiority" I could ask how does she (at least until a shoulder injury this year) put the feel into say a Chopin waltz or nocturne that I'd be unlikely to find even if I did play piano. It's "her" music and she knows it well. She knows where to put feeling in.