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The music teachers one was where I found the teacher who just cancelled today's lesson. I haven't tried epta so thanks for that link.

Hi Kevin,

Just my two cents - I think it's worth making the time and effort to go to a better teacher. It's a matter of priorities.
I was in your situation earlier this year, right around when cmb13 changed teachers as well. My previous teacher used to cancel frequently, sometimes two weeks in a row, with a very short notice. She never tried to reschedule. And she didn't seem particularly sorry about it.

I now go to a teacher in another city (an hour of commute in each direction), and I also have to leave work early on the day of the lesson to get there in time. It's so worth it though. You deserve the best teacher, it will save you a lot of time.

That being said, I did have a teacher (not a piano teacher) who canceled/postponed the first lesson twice... and turned out to be great. You need to figure out whether it was an exception or a habit.

Hi Kevin


Have you tried Tutorfair https://www.tutorfair.com. I found my current piano tutor on this site and he's extremely good and reliable - my previous tutor also had a practice of cancelling lessons at short notice - you don't have to pay a fee and after paying for the first lesson through the site you can make your own payment arrangements directly with the tutor for more lessons.


All the best

I wonder if those teachers who cancel often are only giving lessons as a sideline while pursuing more lucrative jobs (whether in music or otherwise).

None of my four teachers cancelled a single lesson in the ten years when I was having lessons, not even my last teacher (who was a concert pianist). They were all devoted to teaching.......

As well working full time I am a part time cared for my partner. Fitting in practise and lessons is always a struggle. The idea of a half hour commute each way is bad enough. An hour each is not an option.

My previous teacher is a student at a local University. She is now doing her teachers qualification and it has been her school placements which have been the cause of our timing mismatch. Along with running into lots of kids she has ended up with a lot of colds and flue.

It seems on this less affluent side of Sheffield the teachers aren’t full time piano teachers.

Have you considered one-on-one video lessons via video messenger (Zoom, for example)? A number of us on PW are doing this to good effect. Works even better with more than one simultaneous camera view.

EDIT: Sorry, I see above you said you aren't considering this at this time.

I might have to start considering this more seriously. It will mean getting a collection of equipment and getting everything setup, which is well within my capabilities, just another time sink and learning curve.

I've had nothing but silence from two other close teachers I have contacted.

It's half-term in the UK at present.........

Well, if you are considering this, I highly recommend Zoom over Skype and other messengers, as it is possible to turn off all automated audio compression on Zoom.

I've never had an in-person teacher for these 20 months I've been working away at piano, and find my work with my piano teacher to be very rewarding and presently am being prepped for an end-of-the year exam.

I think live lessons with a piano teacher over video messenger are quite workable and can be very effective for adults. I can imagine these could be far less effective for children - for example, I could even imagine my daughter taking such video classes when she was a child. It just wouldn't have worked for her.

Just a note - it *can* be very simple. For my online lessons I use only my laptop, set up at one end of the piano. Built-in camera and mic are quite adequate.

I am fortunate, the teacher I have now only cancelled once in 4 years for a concert he was playing in. My previous teacher very seldom missed and it was only when he was playing for the symphony. I also play slow, to play the Entertainer up to speed was about a year long process. We generally select one piece to keep working on to get it up to speed. Most of the time I do not hit the metronome suggested markings but feel I learned from the piece and we move on. Piano is just hard for me, I never thought I could practice and still not get it.

+1!

Good to know.

I am however lucky. I have a lesson booked now for Monday at 8:30 in the evening. Perfect for me because though it is a good deal further away it will not involve me in dealing with peak hour traffic so I can pretty much ensure a 20 minute commute each way.

The teacher who rescheduled and then rescheduled again, I am in two minds about telling her now that I'm cancelling or perhaps wait to see how the lesson on Monday goes. My gut feeling is I should just tell her tomorrow.

I should note that one of the reasons why online lessons would be more awkward for me is I can’t know when my partners health will be worse and she needs to be sleeping. For a video lesson in that scenario I would have to be playing with headphones, a throat microphone or similar and have the audio mixed on the computer, from the teacher, my throat microphone and the piano.

Not impossible but suddenly the setup gets more complex.

Having a lesson elsewhere in that case is easier.

KevinM
Also having a lesson somewhere else gets you a total break to do something personal for yourself. Those of us that have ever been caretakers learned how important just a small snippet of personal time can be. You need to recharge yourself to be good for those you love.

You’ll find a teacher that is good for you 😊