Tempo Is Not Set In Stone

Though it's nice to work towards playing a song at the same tempo as the recording, keep in mind that the tempo a song is performed at is based on the feeling of the moment it's recorded. If you were to see that same artist perform the same song live a number of times over the period of multiple shows, you would notice that some nights it would be played slower and other nights faster. If you like the sound of performing a song a little slower... play it that way. If you feel it has more impact played faster... go for it and play it faster. This applies to your study songs... if you want to record them at a slower tempo... go for it.

Here's a video of me playing "Walter's Boogie" by Big Walter Horton. I commonly like to play it slower than Horton, but that night I played it faster!... it's just how I felt that night.

Walter's Boogie by Big Walter Horton perf by David Barrett
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xG2XlOuf5o