I come from a 30 year, self-taught guitar background and have dabbled with piano for many years but only from a writing perspective playing creations I come up with. I’ve decided to actually take learning piano much more seriously so have been learning to sight read sheet music and trying to start at ground floor from a theory perspective too.

I’m starting on basic classical pieces that I’ve not ever heard and find it enjoyable to slowly read the music and figure it out how it goes without having actually heard it played before. Once I think I have it, I listen and see how close I am to playing it like it’s supposed to sound. So far, I think I’m doing well with the occasional rhythmic liberty I’ve taken that I need to correct.

I am concentrating hard on getting the fingering correct and I end up slowing it down a lot to play it with correct fingering and rhythm. I break down troublesome sections in bits if/when needed but mostly I’m wondering if it’s best to play it super slowly hitting and prioritize all the correct fingering and notes over trying to play it closer to optimal tempo. I figure once my muscle memory and brain figure it out slow, I should be able to gradually increase the pace eventually. Going about it right?