Passages in music are meant to take us from point A to point B, and practicing them slowly can hinder speed despite improving tone production.

Understanding the musical gesture you're searching for helps prevent getting bogged down by minor details, allowing you to grasp the bigger idea of the piece.

A single note less in a challenging chord can help create a more beautiful phrase while maintaining flow.

When learning a piece of repertoire, having a performance goal can guide you on when to move on, such as being able to play it from beginning to end with musical shaping and phrasing.

When practicing fast passages, thinking of them as a single goal rather than many notes makes them easier to execute.

Phrasing is essential when playing a passage, and I personally enjoy incorporating phrasing into my performance. When playing fast scalar passages, focus on the overall crescendo rather than each individual note, as the first note should not be accented but rather serve as the beginning of a crescendo leading to the theme.

Connecting notes using legato techniques creates a musical line, making the notes part of a complete idea rather than disconnected entities.

When playing the melody without accompaniment, focus solely on it to avoid getting distracted by the harmony or technique.

The fingering for difficult passages should be crafted to allow for extensions, making it easier to transition between notes without losing position.