ok, I`ve been practicing hanon and my arpeggios like crazy for the last month now, so I`ve finally worked up the courage to try the 2nd section of clair de lune. So, how long does it take to get up to performance standard? I have never done a piece that takes this long to learn, is that the same for the rest of you? It`s taken me about 8 or 9 hours over the last five days just to get the 1st page up to reasonable standard, which for me is a LOT. Later pages seem even less straight forward, so how long did it take you to learn?

Taking a long time to get something the way you like it is normal. Glenn Gould probably said, "I don`t think I like how I did that. Let`s do it again." a million times before he was satisfied.

Learning a new song, especially a hard one like Claire de Lune, takes a lot of practice and most of all...patience. I am still trying to learn it and I`ve probably been on it for 4 months (with a big break in between). LOL But yes, the most important thing is patience. Good luck!