Help Center
Everything Syntonia does, how live MIDI lessons work, how to get the lowest latency on your computer, plus credits and terms.
Syntonia is currently in open beta — anyone can create a free account. Receiving payments is switched off for now, so no studio can take money during beta.
Want in? Just create your free account from the sign-in page — no invite needed.
About your data: keeping your accounts, lessons, files and messages safe through updates is our top priority. But because this is an early build, your data may occasionally be reset between versions, and could be wiped as we finish beta. Please don’t treat Syntonia as your only copy of anything important — keep your own backups of files and student records.
Beta is free while we finish building. Paid plans will turn on later; accounts created free stay free.
Syntonia is an all-in-one studio for music lessons. Teachers run live video lessons with synced MIDI instruments built right into the browser, build courses and assignments, write sheet music, record and edit lesson videos, schedule lessons, share files, message students, and — once paid plans turn on — take payments through their own Stripe. Students get their own account tied to their studio with read-only access to what their teacher shares.
Your home dashboard groups everything into colored sections. Use the left sidebar (or the bottom bar on mobile) to move between Lessons, Messages, Calendar, Courses, Assignments, Library, Media, Instruments, Compose, Record, and your Profile.
Open Lessons to start a live video room and invite your student. Once you are both in the call, open the on-screen instrument and dock it as a piano roll along the bottom. When the teacher plays — on the computer keys or a connected MIDI keyboard — the notes light up and sound on the student’s screen in real time, and vice-versa.
Playing an instrument in a browser means your keypress travels through the browser’s audio engine before you hear it. How much delay (“latency”) you feel depends almost entirely on your operating system.
On a Mac, use Google Chrome (or Edge). Web MIDI is built in, so a USB MIDI keyboard connects instantly with no drivers, and macOS’s Core Audio path is already low-latency. This is the best experience — it feels essentially real-time. Just plug in your keyboard, open the instrument, and allow MIDI access when Chrome asks.
On Windows, the browser uses the system’s shared audio path, which is not a low-latency one — browsers can’t use pro ASIO drivers directly. So there will always be a noticeable delay between pressing a key and hearing it. This is a Windows/browser limitation, not a Syntonia bug.
Recommended Windows setup: use an external USB audio interface (Focusrite Scarlett, PreSonus, Behringer UMC, etc.) with its ASIO driver. Routing your sound through a real interface drops latency dramatically and is the standard fix used by every home studio.
How to set one up:
In short: Mac + Chrome = plug-and-play and instant. Windows = use a real audio interface with ASIO for a playable feel.
Keyboard — five voices you can layer and balance with faders in the Sounds panel: Acoustic Piano, Felt Piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and B3 Organ. The Felt Piano is modeled from the CC-BY Salamander grand with felt-style damping (soft attack + rolled-off highs); selecting it layers the felt tone on top of the acoustic piano, with a soft felt-engage sound. Some voices offer more than one sample library (FluidR3 vs MusyngKite) — switch to taste. The organ plays at full organ velocity and sustains seamlessly while held; the B3 runs through a Leslie rotary.
Guitar — real sampled electric guitar with two pickups to choose from: Single Coil (bright, clean) and Humbucker (warmer). Switch in the Sounds panel.
Drumset & Drum Pad — real acoustic drum samples (kick, snare, hi-hats, toms) with selectable Rock and Jazz kits. Both follow the General MIDI drum map (C = kick, D/E = snare, F# = hi-hat) so a MIDI drum controller just works, and every drum pad can be MIDI-mapped to your own controller with its “MIDI” learn button.
You can preview the exact sample files each instrument loads in Library › Samples (locked, read-only).
Each instrument has a drag-to-reorder pedalboard with Logic-style knobs: Drive (4× oversampled waveshaper), Chorus, Phaser, stereo Ping-Pong Delay, Reverb, an envelope-following Auto-Wah, and a convolution Cab Sim (impulse-response amp/cabinet simulator). Drag a knob to dial it, double-click to reset, and click a knob’s CC button then move a control on your keyboard to MIDI-map it.
The reverb uses the classic open-source Freeverb algorithm (by Jezar at Dreampoint), and effects run on the open-source Tone.js audio engine (MIT). See Credits below.
In Plans, teachers build courses out of chapters and sections (videos, sheet music, notes) and assign them to students. Students open the same plan as a branded course player, work through sections, and tap Mark Section Complete — the progress bar fills per chapter.
Assignments are checklists you send a student — each task can require a file submission, and you can link an assignment to a course section so it appears exactly when they reach that part. A section can play a recording with a synced piano-roll, be marked must-watch so it only unlocks once finished, and show sheet music under the player. Students submit takes and ask questions right from the card.
Compose is a built-in sheet-music editor. Click notes onto a grand staff, build chords on a beat, set note values and add sharps, flats and naturals, then play the score back with the in-app instruments. Saved scores live in your Library and can be attached to a course section or assignment as playable sheet music.
Record is a browser-based video editor for lesson clips. Capture from your webcam and mic, lay clips and audio overdubs on a multi-track timeline, ride levels on the mixer with a live input meter, then render a clean take. Finished recordings drop straight into a course section or an assignment, where they can replay with a synced piano-roll.
Students see their teacher in Messages by default. Teachers can send a one-tap lesson-room invite; scheduled lessons and reschedule requests arrive as cards. Expired invites collapse into a small greyed bubble so the thread stays tidy.
The Calendar is where teachers schedule lessons and open or close studio days with overrides; students see their upcoming lessons and can flag days they’re unavailable.
Library is your studio’s file system — uploads here feed the rest of the app (instrument samples, lesson files, sheet music). The built-in Samples folder is locked and read-only, but you can open it to see exactly which oneshots each instrument uses.
Uploading your own samples. Studios can upload their own oneshots and sound files. You are responsible for making sure you have the rights to anything you upload — see “Uploaded content” in the Terms below.
Media is for links and videos (YouTube now, Spotify planned) that play in a floating mini-player while you work elsewhere.
This is general information, not legal advice — talk to a lawyer for your situation.
You may upload sounds you own or that are royalty-free. Most commercial sample libraries license you to use the sounds, but forbid redistributing the raw files. Do not share raw oneshots or sample files with students for download — play them in lessons instead. Uploading them only for your own playback is lower-risk; making them downloadable to others can breach the library’s license.
Copyrighted sheet music can’t be scanned, copied, or shared without permission. Use legally-purchased copies, public-domain works (e.g. pre-1929 in the US), or properly-licensed arrangements. Sharing a PDF of a copyrighted score with students is redistribution and can infringe the publisher’s rights.
ASCAP, BMI and SESAC are performing-rights organizations that license the public performance of songs. A private one-on-one lesson is generally not a public performance, and teaching a copyrighted piece is normally fine. PRO licensing becomes relevant if you publicly broadcast or stream performances, run recitals open to the public, or host backing tracks of copyrighted recordings — in those cases the venue or host usually needs the license, not Syntonia. If you stream public performances, get the appropriate ASCAP/BMI license.
Syntonia operates as a neutral hosting provider under the U.S. DMCA §512(c) safe harbor. We do not pre-screen uploads, we respond to valid takedown notices, and we terminate repeat infringers. To stay covered you should: designate a DMCA agent with the U.S. Copyright Office, publish a notice-and-takedown contact, keep a repeat-infringer policy, and not encourage infringement. Uploaders are solely responsible for the rights to their content (see Terms).
Copyright notices: support@harmonialessons.com.
A studio owner adds a student, who receives a no-reply email with their studio key, username, and a temporary password. The student signs in and sets their own password in Profile. Each student account is isolated to its own studio.
Syntonia’s instrument sounds and effects are built from free, openly-licensed work. They’re free to use — including in commercial apps — as long as the original authors are credited, which we gladly do:
Attribution is provided per each library’s license; CC-BY-SA material remains under share-alike if redistributed.
The full Terms & Conditions now live on their own page. Read the Terms & Conditions →
In short: Syntonia is the software (file manager, MIDI sync, lesson tools, and video calls) — it doesn't provide the instruction itself, and it isn't a bank or the seller of a studio's lessons. Studios can now take payments through Stripe — the studio is the merchant of record and Syntonia takes no commission. Studios and teachers are responsible for supervising lessons and minors, for the rights to anything they upload, and for their own pricing, refunds and taxes. The service is provided as-is. Our companion Privacy Policy covers data and children's privacy.
Questions about these terms? Email support@harmonialessons.com.
Browsers on Windows use the system’s shared audio path, which isn’t low-latency. Use an external audio interface with its ASIO driver to fix it. See the “MIDI, browsers & latency” section above.
A Mac with Google Chrome — Web MIDI is built in and Core Audio is already fast, so it feels instant. On Windows, a USB audio interface with ASIO drivers.
Yes — you can upload your own oneshots and sound files in Library. You’re responsible for having the rights to use them (your own recordings, royalty-free packs, or libraries whose license permits this). Note that some commercial libraries forbid sharing the raw samples with others, so check your license before sharing them studio-wide.
No. Plug it in over USB, open the instrument, and allow MIDI access when Chrome asks. Use the dock’s “Select MIDI” button to pick your device.
Chrome or Edge. Web MIDI (needed for keyboards) isn’t supported in Safari or Firefox.
Not by default. Video runs through a third-party provider and Syntonia does not record calls.
Yes — Studios can sell single lessons, lesson packages, recurring tuition (subscriptions) and courses right in the app. Payments are processed by Stripe through your own connected Stripe account, so you are the merchant of record and the money flows straight to you — Syntonia never holds your funds, sets your prices, or takes any commission. You set prices in Studio Settings; card details are entered on Stripe’s secure checkout and Syntonia never sees full card numbers. During the beta, receiving payments is switched off, so no studio can take money yet. (The only charge Syntonia itself may bill is your Studio’s own subscription to the app.)
Yes — the Compose tab is a grand-staff notation editor. Place notes, build chords, set durations and accidentals, and play it back with the in-app instruments. Save it to your Library and attach it to a course section or assignment.
Yes — the Record tab captures from your camera and mic and gives you a multi-track timeline for trimming clips and layering audio overdubs, plus a mixer and live input meter. Render a take and link it to a course or assignment.
iOS requires a tap to unlock browser audio. When you load into a room you’ll see a “tap to start” prompt — tap once and sound is enabled.
Syntonia · Docs are updated as features ship.