The second problem is sharps and flats (— and naturals — ♭, ♯, ♮) which can stand both at the beginning of the stave to indicate the key in question and also here and there before individual notes, as is invariably the case with modern composers. Taking in sharps and flats and phrasing and dynamic markings at sight requires some concentration. Anyone who has omitted, early on in his studies, to read these signs consciously, can make up the lost ground only by means of intensive study.
The studies presented here offer abundant material for this. The will to embark on the subject matter, personal commitment, and the type and range of the study material will, along with other things, decide whether a course of training is successful. Apathy and frivolity make poor study companions, but so do excessive zeal and false ambition.
Practise systematically. Single out exercises which are too difficult and put them on one side. Break the remaining problems down into the smallest possible details; try to find the solution. Ensure that work and free time are kept in suitable proportion, whatever your other commitments, and that you go to work spontaneously on material which is divided into manageable portions. If this advice is heeded, the result will generally be a standard of playing which certainly transcends run-of-the-mill achievements and forms the basis for a professional future, perhaps even for a solo career.