Hi,
I am coming back to piano after a long break. I have a background in piano jazz and classical, but never took formal piano lessons with a teacher, only a few lessons of jazz piano. At the moment I can play pieces from grade 3 with ease (RCM grade)
I have purchased a tonebase lifetime subscription. After some time using it I have realised that it has been a terrible decision because there is not much content for early intermediate, the gap between pieces is too wide, and the quality of the tutorials is actually not better that many free tutorials you can find for free in youtube, at least at my level. Also, the technical support is poor, taking 1 week to get an answer even when they advertise 24h. It has been more than a month and they have not added any new video on repertoire, only webinars. I have requested a refund.
I believe I am really good at self teaching (my jazz piano teacher was impressed). I am making good progress at the moment on my own. When I make mistakes, it is because of memory slips (I am a bad sight reader) but never because it feels difficult. I feel I can make progress on my own, but at the same time it feels a very lonely journey so I think I am seeking courses more for a motivation rather than for a real need.
Now the decision, when I take my money back from tonebase:
- Piano TV School: I really like her style and enjoyed the reading of her book on designing your diano path. She does weekly video review of students playing for feedback. I have considered other options. Piano Career Academy looks great but it is too expensive for me.
- Take1h/month lesson in person for guidance (this is my budget)
- Continue on my own and send videos to teachers for feedback, at my own pace.
During my little experience with in person jazz lessons I noticed that I got nervous and performed way below my real level, so I think I would not take full advantage of in persons lessons and for my particular case I think videos would work better. So option 1 is at the moment my choice
My goal is to play for myself in my room as hobby. Classical for some years ahead but coming back to jazz at some point in the future.
I understand that nobody can decide for me but maybe somebody went through similar situation and want to share her/his experience.
Thank you for reading so long.