-
Hi Luca,
The goal with at-tempo practice is to try to let your body figure out the solution to the problem intuitively, without changing the demands of the problem by slowing it down. So the goal is to play it as close to the way you’ll want to in performance, even from the get-go. Meaning, you’ll want to try to use the kind of sound you want, the kind of articulation, phrasing, vibrato, etc., so that you’re internalizing the actual motor movements that you intend to use in performance.
So if you’re having difficulty with the interval between notes 3-4, you would ideally solve this issue before adding note 5 to the chain. Otherwise, you’re just reinforcing the same motor movements that don’t work every time you repeat the chunk of notes.
If you’re really stumped as to why the interval doesn’t work, you can try slow-motion video to see if you can identify anything, and this is where you could do some deliberate practice as well, rather than trying to intuit your way to the solution if that leaves you feeling stuck.
Because the at-tempo practice will take you a pretty good ways toward the goal, but sometimes your body won’t be able to intuit a way to the solution to a problem, and you may have to slow things down to think your way through it, or analyze slow motion video to see if you can figure out why it’s not working.
If you haven’t already seen percussionist Rob Knopper’s take on at-tempo practice, you can see his video about this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcNZsN0MRtE&t=1s
