When it comes to sight reading i would be completely screwed without a teacher. In my case playing a sheet which i think i’m playing correct can only be confirmed by a pro listening to it while i play it. In a lot of cases he has to play back phrases straight away for me to get them right.
I often bring in an interpretation which isn’t true to the piece and has to be rectified! To me to play a piece of sheet music exactly as the composer intended can be a lot harder than improvising. I often think improvising can be a cop out, but i’m not going to diss improvising as i’ve done lots of it on the guitar & it is enjoyable to say the least as it gives you a lot more freedom.
Also in my case if i record a piece & play it back & try to identify faults in it is only as good as the knowledge of music theory i have so i have to rely on a pro!
Another interesting thing in play some pieces of sheet music, in my case when i’ve corrected a mistake, its uncovered a lot of hidden mistakes, so if you like fixing one error has caused a lot of new errors.
Case in point i once spent a several weeks getting a piece right, every week when i went back to my lesson we found new faults to correct and work on.
But i agree with you Dazza, Johnn’s site has been invaluable, his daily practice routine has helped my intonation. But each person is different in his/her approach to learning.
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