Hear it Right the First Time!

When you first fumble your way through a Beethoven sonata movement, don't just play the notes to prove that you know how to do that.  You will end up imitating some thoughtless version of the piece that will in no way reflect your present state of mind or attentiveness.

Do yourself a favor: Assume that you understand articulations and that you have liberated yourself from the tyranny of beats and barlines to such an extent that you can discern real content right away, rather than having to hear it wrong first and then correct it.

Be on the lookout for subtlety before you work out technical problems:  let good articulation dictate your fingering, rather than work out a mechanical fingering which you will then have to change, if you can change it once it has become habitual.

Why do music teachers insist on assigning this great stuff so as to make it routine.  It isn't.