What to do when one bar keeps going wrong

You play the piece, it's going well, and then bar 6 trips you up. Again. Starting from the top won't fix it, because you're rehearsing the mistake as often as the music.

Here's what works.

1. Find the exact note

Play the bar slowly and watch where it breaks. It's usually one note or one jump, not the whole bar. Circle it in pencil.

2. Take it out of the piece

Play just that bar, then the bar before and the bar after. Three bars is enough to feel the context without carrying the whole page.

3. Slow down further than feels useful

Drop the tempo until you can play it correctly, then hold it there for three clean runs in a row. Only then nudge it up. It'll feel painfully slow. That's the point.

4. Change one thing at a time

If the bar still fails, change a single thing:

• Play each hand alone.
• Play only the rhythm, on one note.
• Say the note names out loud as you play.

When it's steady, put it back in the piece and start from the bar before.

When it still goes wrong

A few days in with no progress? It's probably a fingering or hand-position problem. Show your teacher that exact bar. Two minutes of their time can save you a week of grumbling.