When working on new pieces we many times want to get to the end before we even begin. I am as guilty as anyone at trying to get to the end of a piece, but we in doing so we sacrifice much more than time. We sacrifice ease of movement and exactness of execution the most.
When you find yourself beginning to rush a piece, take a step back and slow things down. Play through the sections that you know but focus only on the pressure it takes you to play each note. This will allow you to truly focus on your hand movements. You might also find that you do not know the piece as well as you thought you did. When slowing things down you'll find that your concentration must increase. This is a wonderful bi-product and will only benefit you when it comes time to perform the piece in front of others.
It may take days or weeks before you truly begin to feel ease of movement after slowing things down. At this point you'll begin to move the piece to higher tempos. That's the time you need to slow it down again. Force yourself to take another step back and truly "feel" how your hands are playing. Every note, every nuance, every movement must be easy before you can truly feel confident that every performance will yield the desired result.
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