I studied piano for over 10 years and that is false. There is a complex mechanism in each key with many parts and the way in which you play can affect the attack and release. Resonance, loud or soft with or without attack, controlling the clacking when you lift. Also the way you play makes certain dynamics possible and it’s not easy. I was at concert level at one point. Not to brag because I didn’t want to do it and once I was out of the house I quit. Just yeah.
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I think it just means you can’t modulate a note on a piano once the hammer’s hit the string. A piano’s expressiveness works over spans of notes, or spans of lines playing in harmony with each other. It’s the same with all percussion instruments, and the piano is a percussion instrument.
You can control it by how deeply, how fast, and how hard you press. The tone over time has a subtle amount of modulation but it’s there. Try lifting your finger super gently and slowly. You’ll get harmonics.
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OP might like Harpejji. People with a piano/keyboard background like the OP seem to like it
Cory Henry
Harry Connick Jr.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSx71qaNO4g/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-zivb1Ho5H/
Stevie Wonder
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I think this a very personal thing that only you will ultimately figure out.
For me it’s synths that have a lot of nuances that can be found in small changes of settings. Analog synths are particularly good at this but there are good digital ones.
The connection, like you speak of, comes when I’m tweaking and jamming on the keys. I find one of these expressive points that resonated with me in the moment and both hands move to the keyboard. I’m connected.
This is why I believe it’s very personal. Getting ideas from others can maybe help you see what yours is as well though.
I hope you find it as well as your joy of being connected with your process 
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I’ve come close to getting one of those many times but never done so. I never feel much expression when working with MPC style pads, even if they feel nice.
I yearn for this and the closest I’ve come in a playable sense is Mononoke on iPad, which suggests that a Lyra would be something I’d gel with. I almost bought an Elmyra but wasn’t certain that it wouldn’t just make me want a Lyra even more
This is an excellent answer, the Yamaha Reface CP is a phenomenal instrument, I don’t play keys and I felt an emotional bond with mine. Keep meaning to get another.
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In my personal experience there have been quite a few instruments over the years that I’ve really connected with but the best feeling is when you play one for the first time and the rest of the world seems to disappear because the connection is so immediate. It’s like going into a trance.
The best examples of this for me have been;
-drums, maybe stick percussion in general. Could be a drum set, could be a junkyard.
-bass and guitar. Through big amps so you’re playing the whole rig as one.
-a few different organs. Most don’t quite get me there, even if they’re great, but when I find one that has something special going on it’s an amazing experience. A couple of of lowreys have done this (one tube, one transistor), a half broken Hammond A-series, the only pipe organ I’ve ever played, and a variety of combo organs (spending too much time on a crusty vox super continental got me kicked out of a pawn shop once).
-hydrasynth keys. I love playing it so much that I’m falling behind in programming new patches. The poly aftertouch is a game changer beyond anything I could have imagined.
-korg er1. I had always enjoyed drum machines but when that one hit the streets I fell in love with them.
I bought and elmyra and liked it so much I sold it the next day and bought a lyra8
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this is precisely how I would envisage my own experience playing out!
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I’m not a very good pianist, but I get the same experience. I also find the piano (well my cheapish digi-piano) an incredible writing tool.
For me, I think it’s because of the layout. 88 notes, all visible and reachable immediately. Suddenly decide you want to jump octaves? No thinking necessary. The fixed nature of it forces you to become very familiar with its nuances.
In terms of flow state; well, it’s hard to beat singing. I think many people give up on singing without seriously trying; without approaching it the same way they would learning an instrument, where you expect to put in hours and study a little technique before you get better. Trying to sing without ego, in a sense - developing awareness of your own body *as an instrument * that you can master- is a strange and powerful feeling.
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I bought the reface CP as a small midiDIN controller, as I found one for cheap on ebay, and I liked the build quality. I find myself jamming out on it more often than any other synth I own. I agree with you.
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What about an hangdrum?? Always dream to have one…
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I don’t feel I can add much but I agree that I feel totally different sitting playing a real piano. I also play drums (not particularly well) and I’m predominantly a guitarist / bass player. All of these instruments do something to and for me. I think it is mostly to do with resonance, vibration and some kind of immediate emotional tactile feedback - Something I can’t get from electronic instruments / samplers / synths and modules.
In saying this I love all my electronic gear and I love what I can do with it. It’s simply a very very different way to create.
From what you’ve already said I don’t think getting another piece of gear or a synth is gonna give you what your searching for.
You have a piano and though it may be inappropriately placed / located in your home? try messing with it to dampen the felt, put sticks and pieces of metal between some of the strings and create your own prepared piano - mic it up and sample the hell out of it if you haven’t already done that? In a way you have to re-learn an instrument by going through this kind of process and that can unleash a lot of creative and inspiring potential - I do this when I play guitar too as I tend to mess up tunings so that I have to learn how to play with them - searching familiarity for something beautiful.
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A number of posters here have written about electronic instruments missing the natural vibrations that acoustic instruments have. Has any manufacturer tried adding a slight rumble (video game controller-style) to their keybeds/pads/inputs?
EDIT: Looks like TE made an add on for the OP-Z like this called the ZM-2 Rumble. Anyone have any experience with this, or know of anything similar for other hardware?
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I have an op-z but not the rumble add-on. It seemed gimmicky and it’s obviously ridiculously priced but hey that’s TE 
. Nevertheless I read the reviews on release because I’m all for companies trying out new batshit crazy things. There’s more info on the Operator 1 forum here. Ironically it seems that thread went dead pretty quickly.
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I actually have the rumble module and its really cool… Watching Netflix with OP-Z as an audio Interface with the rumble module plugged in is a heightened state of movies 
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The flute is my first wind instrument, and it has been such a different experience to playing guitar, or keys, or electronic instruments, as it’s so much more physical. You have to learn to control your breathing to have enough air to get through passages and develop your lungs to be able to sustain notes longer and be able to play more complex phrases (and even higher pitches).
I have been practicing yoga and zen meditation locally the past few years, and breathing is of course a major aspect of those as well, so I can definitely see how the breath control aspect of wind instruments could lend itself to a “spiritual” connection to the music.
Incidentally, I’ve got a bit of mild asthma, and I’ve been told that instruments like the flute are great for strengthening the lungs, so playing the flute doubles as physical therapy for me, something which I never considered when I picked it up as doctors never think to mention these kinds of things.
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I was never that good; at my peak, I could play with the equivalent of eight or nine years of study. My kids could have been, but they liked playing and disliked competition, and at the end, even their teachers lost interest because they weren’t going out and winning medals that they clearly could. I don’t have access to a piano any more, though I am technically still a joint owner of a very nice six-foot German grand.
Yes, there are subtle techniques involving key travel. But they are beyond the reach of most players, and in my inexpert opinion, do not contribute significantly to the emotional connection one feels with the instrument while playing.
(P.S. I am sorry that you were compelled to play and disliked it. There is too much of that in this world.)
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