Difficult Passages

I mean this literally, although it also applies figuratively.  Certain flute passages are especially difficult for me to play fast; I've finally determined that one or two fingers on my right hand are the culprit.  One passage in particular has been very difficult for me to play at the correct speed (half note=80)--I've played the (eighth) notes over and over and over and over again.  I can play them correctly at a slower speed, but when I try to speed up to the correct tempo my fingers lose it.  The right middle finger in particular has great difficulty moving--I can actually feel the fingers trying, but not able to keep up.  And it's different from another difficulty I have, which is getting a mental block against passages that are difficult for me to learn.  Once I learn such a passage, my brain says "uh oh, here it comes, that passage you mess up on". I try to suppress these thoughts, but I'm prone to having thoughts get in my way of performance.

Today went slightly better with the difficult passage.  I stopped trying to play up to speed, and took it at a speed where I could play it correctly.  I played the entire piece 3 times through (the passage appears twice in the piece), then played the passage about 20 times.  I was able, toward the end, to pick up the speed slightly.  But I didn't get to 80; maybe 72.  So my plan for this week's practice is to take the same approach--start at a tempo where I can play the piece, then practice the passage in groupings of 5, increasing the tempo slightly as long as I'm still able to play the notes.  I don't know whether I'll be able to play up to tempo by my next lesson on Friday.

I was basing this approach on some advice I found on the internet--start at a tempo where you can play the notes correctly (they suggest q=60; I could already play a bit faster than that) and don't increase the speed until you can play the passage correctly 5 times at the slower speed.  But I'm not really trying to increase the speed--that's what seems to trip me up.  I do think it's at least as much physical as psychological in this case.

After this week, my teacher and I have agreed to move on from that piece, even if I'm not able to play at tempo.  This is my third week on this piece--Bourree by Handel, #38 in Moyse's Forty Little Pieces.
And it's the last piece--I've already done #39 and 40 (one week each for those).

So I will have finished Forty Little Pieces in about 43 weeks--I started taking flute lessons on Jan. 31, 2012.  I also finished Emil Eck's first methods book a few weeks ago, and am on my 2nd week of book 2.  And I'm just starting Faure's Sicilienne from 24 Short Concert Pieces, plus working on about 15 pieces in the Tulou for Two duet book.  I am learning quickly, but can also see my limitations.  When you start from nothing, the gains are exponential.  From here on things will get a lot more difficult, I suspect, with the gains more subtle, if there are any.