My experience with teachers was less satisfying. When I was 16 I went to a teacher in Montreal. I was already pretty adept and the first thing she told me was to forget everything I knew, that I was riddled with bad habits. She then spent the first lesson putting my foot up on a little stand and wrenching me into what she called the right position. All I wanted was to hear somebody good play something right there in front of me, so I asked her to inspire me. She declined, saying she had to get ready for the next student. This happened three weeks in a row and I then realized she couldn't really play anything herself, she just knew what was in the book she was using to teach. I stopped going and never went back to a teacher again. I started earning my living from playing about 3 years after that ... that was 1969 and I haven't done anything else ever since.
If you can't find a good teacher, try and play with as many people as you can ... you'll learn something from all of them, even those who are less advanced that you are.
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