When we give minor corrections to our students, our students end up loosing their trust in their own judgment.
They give up their sense of control over a piece, and wait to get all the answers from us. They only learn to play this note in this piece in that way. How will that help them to perform future pieces better?
Instead, when we look at the big picture of their playing, we can tie minor corrections together into one bigger idea.
That way, students learn the steps to making the right decisions by themselves, and will transfer that knowledge to the pieces they'll play next.
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It's important to ensure students are playing accurately, but I agree that constantly picking them up on minor slips can dent their confidence. I like my students to play a piece straight through: some pause and ask me if they are doing it right, but I urge them to keep going. Then we discuss issues together - if a student can spot a mistake, rather than have me point it out, all the better. Learning to identify mistakes yourself and correct them is a crucial part of the learning process. :-)
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