Learning lots of tunes vs. practicing to perfection

[CatherineQ]

I struggle with this also. My teacher keeps giving me new tunes to play and sometimes I get a little overwhelmed. What we have both agreed on is that I need to first learn the tune, then add the ornaments and then commit it to memory. Now that I have a few tunes perfect, then I find it easier to learn more tunes and memorize them. Now that I have a few favorites it is becoming easier to learn from ear. The long and the short of it: I think it is better to know a handfull of songs and play them amazing then a bunch of songs that you can just get through. You will never become a great player that way.