You know the common advice "Listen to a recording of your playing in order to improve"?
I'm trying to do this more, and it's made me realize that more often than not, I'm not really hearing what I'm playing, but instead what I think I'm playing. Or more accurately, what I think I should be playing.
This is the most egregious when I'm trying to control the volume in my left hand, or bring out the melody, or change tempo. I oftentimes THINK I'm making a 40% change, and when I listen to a recording, it actually sounds more like 10% difference.
This obviously makes it harder and more complex to learn a piece and really polish it. But it has me wondering, whether professional players have an ear to hear past what they think they're playing, and are able to hear what they're actually playing? To me, being able to do that seems like it would be a akin to a superpower that would really unlock faster advancement.