A week ago I spoke with a local piano teacher about getting help with playing the opening chords for So What. He agreed to send me either a video or simple diagrams on how to play it on my keyboard, and I would pay him. For our mutual convenience, we wouldn't meet in person. He said he was excited with this work arrangement and would get back to me soon.

After a week of no communication whatsoever, I text messaged him this morning for an update. Several hours later, here's the reply I got:

I'm sorry I haven't gotten to it, and I'm also sorry to say that the online video thing would be quite the learning curve for me. I know I sounded positive about it, but I now realize what it will take from me and that is not how I teach piano. If you would like regular piano lessons we can set that up, but I am unable to put together customized tutorials.

This is obviously disappointing for me, and I'm beginning to question myself. Is my request reasonable or completely outlandish? But I also marvel at how unresponsive and inflexible some traditional piano teachers are despite the challenges their profession faces in this age of free, instant information.

However, with the help of a timely blessing I made a breakthrough tonight...

Simon Glenister's Udemy course Piano beginners: Unlock the power of chords in just an hour went on sale today, so I grabbed it. What a godsend! I learned more about piano chords in that single hour than the previous three weeks of watching YouTube videos and reading ebooks.

I still need to practice these chord formulas regularly to solidify it in my mind and build muscle memory, but I think I've passed to the other side of understanding and will be able to decipher the chords for So What – without help.