What are the 10 most useful things I learned THIS year?

I am tempted to just repeat the list from a year ago, because I have to keep being reminded of the same things over and over!  However here's my attempt to document that I did learn something this year!

1.  Sometimes the best only way to keep in time is to count along with yourself.  It's not easy (especially if you have trouble concentrating on more than one thing at a time, like I do) but the metronome can only take you so far, and it really doesn't sound good playing along in the background!   Seriously though - pieces that don't have a steady downbeat seem to be particularly hard to keep a steady tempo - there was one piece (the Pavan) where I didn't get it until I counted along.

2.  Counting is pretty essential when sight reading too.  My guitar teacher in a fit of what cannot possibly be sadism has given me sight reading pieces that I swear are impossible to read (unless you're a real guitar player, perhaps).  The only way I even managed to get the beat (ignoring the notes) was to count along laboriously.  Worked for 16ths with rests and ties, but not for quarter note (or-  heavens! half-note) triplets.  Any hints on that topic will be welcomed (and it's way too slow to just fit in trip-e-let... I tried!)

3. Playing super slowly really helps with memorization.  Muscle memory seems to fall apart if you play it slowly enough, so you have to really think about the notes and which fingers you are playing them with.  So by the time you relearned how to play it super-slowly you know it a whole lot better.

4. Playing super-slowly really helps with correcting errors you may have been unconsciously making, such as playing the wrong notes (!) or failing to hold them the correct length.   Why? because if you're me, it's probably the first time you've really studied the music closely - it's amazing what you find out...

5. Practicing things 10x in a row correctly is not necessary nor (for me) advisable.  Four is about the right number for me because I've found it tends to fall apart at 3 or 4 if it's going to.  Why is it not advisable for me to do more? If there is one injury I'm prone to, it's tendonitis/over-use injuries.  Enough said.

6. If you can't seem to 'get' the LH fingering, check the RH!   I  know, sounds counterintuitive, but if the brain is puzzling over the RH fingering, it's easy for the LH to fall apart too. I tend to concentrate on the LH, so it makes sense I don't notice when the RH is causing the trouble.

7.  I don't think I've internalized this one yet.  Start learning the dynamics and articulation sooner- while you are initially learning the piece.  I've been told enough times, I thought I'd write it down 😏

8.  Learning to sight read takes a long long long time.  Yep, it was on last year's list as well.  I guess I could add that it takes more willpower than I have to do it every day,  but at least this year I've kept at it for longer periods between breaks, and I enlisted my guitar teacher to help me remember...

9. Recording yourself is really really really useful.  Another one from last year's list.   I can say that I am no longer intimidated by the red button on my phone.  I'll sometimes play a section, listen,  and repeat multiple times until it actually sounds roughly like I think it did to start with.   I guess if this was new year's resolution time, I'd say I need to make myself just as comfortable with the video camera.  Don't hold your breath though.

10.  I'm tempted to make this one a repeat of "you need to practice performing if you want to perform" and it's still true, but I didn't do it this year.   Instead I'm working on the other end of the equation - working up pieces until they are solid enough that they don't completely fall apart under performance pressure.   Having confidence that I really can play it through every time will hopefully help.