matt has nailed it.
It took me a while to realize how to practice. It's very focused effort. When people suggest practicing something in front of the TV they are talking crap tbh. You can't have focused practice in front of the TV. Perfect practice makes perfect.
Personally, if it's something pretty hard and above my current skill level, I practice it very slowly ("bullet time" as SD said) making sure I'm moving the fingers how I want them to move (without tension, with fluidity). It probably won't sound musical or be that great for a few days, so I'll spend 10-20min on it once or twice a day. Almost magically it comes together (usually the following day as sleep is what strengthens neural connections). From there I can speed up a little and work the rhythm into the tune. I practice that until it feels virtually effortless, because it has to be effortless if I'm to play it easily and without error. After that I practice the transition (as matt says) into that part.
It's slow. Can take me a few weeks to learn a song that way (if it's above my current skill level) but totally worth it. It always brings something more to my playing.
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