Speed

[blobberoo]

I am learning a piece but I cannot play all the notes correctly at the marked speed yet. Should I start at a slow speed until I don't make any more mistakes then increase the speed, or should I play at the marked speed until I can play it without mistakes?

In other words, should I slow down or play at the marked speed?

[bronnestam]

Can you play at accurate speed if  you play just HS (hands separated)?
Then do so, and alter by playing hands together at a slower speed. When you can play at accurate speed with both hands, you should also keep on playing at slow speed from time to time, which will improve the final quality a lot.

If you cannot play fast even HS, you can try practicing (HS) by testing some little tricks:
- play just shorter sections fast and then try to "glue" them together. The sections should overlap each other, of course.
- simplify longer leaps to chords. For example, you can combine four 8ths to one chord, which you quickly bounce four times. Then wriggle your hand a little so that the chord turns to an arpeggio -> you play VERY fast! So now you have to slow down instead of speeding up.
- also try playing very fast mentally, just feeling your fingers move in your mind. You might get surprised how difficult it is at first. And that is why it is so difficult to do in reality.

When you have tried and succeeded playing some sections real fast, you can go back to slow and accurate practice.

You MUST NOT play long sections so fast that you start making errors. Believe me, this is a great way to learn how to make errors, and then it will be h*ll to get rid of them again! So, either you play short sections fast, or long sections slowly.

The reason why you should not just start playing slowly and work your way up, with both hands, is that the movements in slow speed and fast speed are slightly different, so you may hit a "speed wall" which prevents you from playing faster than a certain speed. So you have to try the other way round as well, just to teach your fingers (rather: your brain) how you do it. And again: if you cannot play a section fast enough, then make it even shorter. If there is a long leap where you "stutter" here and there, start by learning the end of it, and work yourself back to the beginning.

So a short reply to your question: yes, and yes.  

[awesom_o]

Start slow with all the correct notes and fingerings. Then you will find that speed actually develops naturally as a BYPRODUCT of doing everything else correctly. Speed is not a goal in and of itself.

[timothy42b]

. Then you will find that speed actually develops naturally as a BYPRODUCT of doing everything else correctly. Speed is not a goal in and of itself.

Speed does not develop naturally or incrementally.

Speed is a product of learning the correct mechanics.  And while notes can be learned slowly, the different mechanics required at speed cannot. 

Still, it is bad to practice mistakes.  Practice makes permanent.  So you need to work a variety of simplifying approaches when you can't play something.  You play it slowly.  You play it HS. (at and above tempo)  You play it skeletonized.  You loop it.  You drop notes.  And mostly, you play very short chunks above tempo, in a variety of approaches.

 In most pieces, there are only a few places that you can't play at tempo, and you focus on those.  If the whole piece is too fast for you, it may be above your level at this time.