How do you study a piece to bring it up to speed as quickly as possible? My former professor used to say to always play slowly for months without ever performing. To work on the most difficult parts with variations and to study it in small sections.
This method has always worked, but to reach a decent performance speed, it takes me months. For example, for the third movement of the Appassionata, it took me almost 10 months. I study at least 10 hours a day and I have posed a question to myself: am I making mistakes or is it normal to take this much time?
My advice is to play slowly, but to play—a full-fledged performance. Slowness must never cause one to lose sight of long phrases, the musical discourse, or the interpretation. Never play in a cold and sterile manner! Slowness allows us to see a piece as if through a magnifying glass. You will see how, in this way, your own body will be the one to demand, at the right moment, a little extra speed.
Alexwaston, for the umpteenth time I have modified your profile, removing links to spam sites from your signature and your user information. If you came here to write a post once in a blue moon with the sole intention of spamming without being identified as a spammer, you have understood very, very wrong. Even if you think you are clever, know that we are not imbeciles and, above all, we will not let ourselves be treated like imbeciles by a newcomer. This is the last warning. The next time I see links to sites selling mobile ringtones in your profile or signature, I will ban your IP address and report those sites to the postal police and the financial police for a thorough investigation.
