To continue with piano teacher or not?

[ComingUpTrumps]

I took up the piano a couple of years ago with a local teacher, who I really like and have been happy with.

I’ve just found out she is moving to a different country though and it looks like she won’t be returning to the U.K. (where I live) for a while, if ever.

She’s happy to carry on lessons online with all her students though, and whilst I think this could work for me, I’m not sure if it’s the best decision.

The reasons why I’d like to continue lessons with her are:

• she knows me well
• I really like her teaching style and have done well with her so far (passed Grade 1 after a year or so of learning)
• it would still be possible to continue lessons with her (although online)
• finding a different teacher would take time, new teachers might charge more than her and I may not ‘click’ with them as much. I’ve had an initial look at finding a new teacher, but all of them either charge much more than her or they live too far away.

The reasons for finding a new teacher are:

• I’m not sure what it’ll be like to do online lessons with her all the time, rather than mainly in-person lessons, with a couple online here and there (which is what we’ve done so far). This is really the main reason! I’m not sure if online lessons - on my crappy keyboard piano - would be as effective as in-person ones on her nice piano!

I could be overthinking this (I probably am haha). I want to learn the piano for fun and out of curiosity, and although I want to be able to play it well (ideally I want to get to Grade 8 - but I’m talking long-term e.g. over the next 10-12 years), I’m not aiming to learn particularly quickly or to be a very high achiever.

My feeling is to stick with my current teacher for the time being, resuming lessons with her online once the summer is over, and then play it by ear and see how it goes. AIBU?

Also, can anyone help with recommending me a good phone tripod or holder that I can use in my online lessons with her, please? I bought one a couple of months ago but it’s a bit flimsy and rubbish! It doesn’t support my phone well at all, sadly. I’ve had a look online for the last few weeks, but haven’t yet found anything that fits the bill.

Grateful for any advice about the lessons dilemma and the phone tripod! Thanks.

Why would you be unreasonable for making the sensible choice? You’d see how it goes and if it doesn’t work then tell her sorry it’s not working but best of luck. Definitely no need to write a or feel unreasonable about that

Thanks for your quick reply, Crystalbabe. I think the main thing I’m worried about, if I decide to stop lessons with her, is how to find a new teacher who’s as good as her and not too expensive. I really want to carry on with the piano and really would like a good teacher, whether that’s her or someone else.

It’s lovely that you’re so committed to learning the piano! I’m struggling a bit to see how completely online lessons could be as effective as face to face but agree with @Crystalbabe it’s perfectly fair to give them a try and look elsewhere for a teacher if necessary.
I don’t have any leads on a good stand for your phone, but if you were to get a tablet, the Levo reading stand is a brilliant bit of kit and extremely sturdy and stable.