Drew-r Specifically, did you begin learning via the virtual route or did you begin in the traditional way - with an actual in-person teacher - that then progressed to a point that you decided to quit with your actual teacher in favor of progressing on a trail of virtual teachers? Any student can be luckier or not compared to other students when it comes to the trial & error timeline for studying with a teacher right for them, be it in-person teachers with a real presence versus virtual teacher/presence.
I didn't find any teacher nearby that would drive to me - before the pandemic. I tried to find some online. I am not willing to drive far to reach the teacher. I have no car, as well.
Another point was coherence; Important key points of the meeting require to be recorded, either on paper or on a short video as my memory isn't too great.
My first online Piano Teacher was actually quite well rounded. But there were problems in communication - he would suddenly clench his teeth. I didn't realize at first. Someday he came shouting and told me that he wasn't paid by the middle-company (preply). We did then re-organize outside (against TOS btw)
The problems with the first teacher were specifically: communication, lack of explanations; sudden appointment cancelations and connection problems! (he would provide no fingering recommendation); later I would find out, that this is a very personal thing. But I wanted to avoid developing bad technique.
This teacher was superb when it came to improvisation.
The second teacher was providing all: communication, a plethora of explanations, video recordings of explanations, a ton of technique exercises. So why did we part? Well, hear me out. What he could not provide was a proper relationship; He didn't want to learn something he wasn't already knowledgable of to collaborate; I wanted an 'idolizable' person, with which I could have also fun - and look up to. The teacher could not provide on the interpersonal level.
Later I found out, that this teacher was mentally sick; he would shield himself from the 'dangerous' electric smog; he told me he doesn't want to meet with me online to shield himself from it. So most was only through text/video.
The third teacher (recently) we had one meeting. I said I wanted to go through the basics as I appear to take quite a time reading new sheet music. He assessed me and told me that I play better than him and I probably am intermediate. He wanted to let me decide if I still want to give it a shot. I did give it a shot and found out, although he had 20 years of experience and a Diploma, his playstyle was all screwed over; Not in rhythm, bad technique … and the end result sounded completely… well bad. He also insisted that I like and subscribe his YouTube channel, which I didn't. But what I found there was, that he usually only teaches very young children…
Conclusion
I think I need a good teacher, which physically sees me. Or does it require to be physically? It isn't too easy to find a legit 'virtual' teacher which is actually good. Perhaps I still haven't found the teacher. Over quite a bit of time I assessed 2 teachers, which had both their strengths and weaknesses, but there was not the level of synergy/harmony I had wished for. A third teacher was consulted recently, which was far below my skill. I, myself think of my skill as highly improvable. To this day, I practice each day.
