Slow practice: so that's why it isn't working!

I'm messing up again.   Even though I can play it at home, (most of the time) I'm not managing to play it for my guitar teacher.   And then comes the instruction ... "try playing it more slowly" -  I can almost predict when.  But at home, I often do play it more slowly in an effort to make it more consistent, it's just not helping much with the faster playing - why not?

I think I may have just come across the answer in Kevin Gallagher's excellent blog at http://www.guitar69.com/   His latest post is short, to the point and may have hit the nail on the head.   He says you have not just to go slowly, but also to do things differently while you've got all that time, with a view to changing how you play it fast.  What in particular does he recommend?  You should be thinking ahead - visualizing, and even feeling how the upcoming notes are going to look and sound while you are still playing the previous ones.  As this is something I've been unable to figure out how to incorporate into my own playing it feels like it might be key. Also consciously working on playing in a relaxed manner - essential for playing faster.  

So it's back to the drawing board for another round of slow playing - this time with something to aim for 😊