Adult learners often focus almost entirely on how a note is pressed, as if touch existed only at the instant the key goes down. But when a note ends is also part of the action. Studies of piano performance measure key release as well as key depression because release timing affects whether adjacent notes overlap, connect or separate.
Legato makes this easy to hear. If one key is released after the next has already been depressed, the notes overlap briefly. Staccato requires a clearer gap. Playing should not turn these relationships into fixed millisecond targets, but the ear needs to know which relationship is intended. What adults describe as a “stiff hand” is sometimes not excessive force on the way down, but a failure to release an old action before the next one is organised.
So, during practice, it can be useful to shift attention occasionally from “how did I press that note?” to “when did I leave it?” Listen to a short phrase and check whether each ending supports the next beginning. Releasing a key is not wasted motion after the real event; it helps create articulation and phrase shape.
When practising a MusicXML score in <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scoreflow/id6796205656">ScoreFlow</a>, let the score follow your playing and repeat a short passage while listening specifically for legato overlap, staccato separation and the space between notes rather than concentrating only on finding the pitches.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3941302/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3179864/
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