Hands Together or Hands Apart, That Is the Question

That depends on alot of things, and there is no hard and fast rule -- no "practice police" will ever come after you.... However, there are some helpful questions you can ask yourself in order to decide the best way to approach a new piece:
* Is this piece below your skill level?
* Is this piece at your skill level, a piece of appropriate difficulty for you?
* Is this piece far above your skill level, intimidating -- a piece you may be able to pull off after about a year of diligent practice?
* Are you a good sight reader?
* How long is the piece?

These are some things you might consider.

Let's assume you are learning a new piece that you don't consider difficult and you feel you could learn in a week or two of regular practice. You might make good progress practicing the piece hands together. This would also be somewhat of a sight-reading exercise as well, which is always a good thing.

One bit of advice for whenever you are learning a new piece, regardless of how you are approaching the piece: Play along with a metronome. Yes, it's restrictive -- that's the point! In fact, the more restricted you feel by the metronome, the more you should consider adding it to your practice routine. Playing with a metronome can become a pleasure (yes, really) when you allow it to even out your playing tempo, and in a very short period of time, you will hear the difference in your performances.

If you consider the piece difficult, I would advise you to practice it hands apart and definitely to practice the piece with a metronome. When you feel comfortable playing each part separately, then start playing it slowly hands together, with the metronome.

If a piece is long, you might consider learning it in sections. Think of the piece as lots of shorter pieces and approach those shorter pieces appropriately. If you are a good sight reader, there's no harm in reading through the piece, playing what you can. Remember not to sight read a difficult piece too many times, or you may learn bad fingering habits, or even wrong notes, that can be difficult to unlearn. One last bit of advice for learning a long piece: Find a recording of the piece and listen to it periodically. You may find that you learn the piece in a shorter period of time.

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