Legal
These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Syntonia ("Syntonia," "we," "us," "our"), the software platform that lets independent music studios and teachers run lessons online. Please read these Terms carefully. By creating an account or otherwise using Syntonia, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be legally bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the service. This is a plain-language agreement and not a substitute for legal advice — studios should have their own lawyer review any binding terms they rely on.
Syntonia is an application — a file manager, a MIDI-sync service, lesson-planning and assignment tools, scheduling, messaging, a video-call tool for music lessons, and optional tools that let a Studio sell single lessons, recurring tuition, and courses online. It does not provide the music instruction itself, and it is not a bank, a money-services business, or the merchant of record for a Studio’s sales. Where a Studio chooses to accept payments, those payments are processed by Stripe and the Studio — not Syntonia — is the seller and merchant of record (see Section 9). We provide the software; teachers and studios run their own businesses on top of it.
Syntonia is intended to be set up and operated by an adult teacher or studio owner. The service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly allow a child under 13 to create their own account. A Studio that adds a student who is under 13 confirms that it has first obtained verifiable consent from that child's parent or guardian, as described in our Privacy Policy (where the Studio is a school, COPPA permits the school to provide that consent on a parent's behalf for use limited to the school's educational context, and the school confirms it has the authority to do so). Individuals between 13 and 18 years of age should review these Terms together with a parent or guardian before using the service. By using Syntonia you represent that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms, or that a parent or guardian who does has agreed to them on your behalf.
A Studio account is created by an adult teacher or owner ("the Studio"), who adds its own staff and students. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep it up to date. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity that occurs under your account, and you agree not to use another person's account without permission. Notify us promptly at support@harmonialessons.com of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.
The Studio and its teachers are solely responsible for the conduct, supervision, and safety of all lessons and of any minor participants. Parents and guardians are responsible for supervising a minor's use of the service and for providing any consent required before a child is added to a Studio. Syntonia is not responsible for what happens during lessons, for interactions between users, or for the safety or supervision of students and minors. See our Privacy Policy for how children's information is handled.
5.1 Health information (HIPAA). Syntonia is not a health-care provider, is not a "covered entity" or "business associate" under the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"), and does not offer or sign Business Associate Agreements (BAAs). The service is not designed for — and you agree not to use it to create, store, or transmit — protected health information ("PHI") or other medical, clinical, or therapy records. If you are a health-care provider — for example a music therapist whose practice is covered by HIPAA — you may use Syntonia only for ordinary music-lesson activity (scheduling, repertoire, general lesson materials, and communication that is not PHI), and you must keep clinical documentation — therapy or treatment notes, diagnoses, treatment plans, assessments, insurance or claims information, and anything else HIPAA requires you to protect — in a HIPAA-compliant system outside Syntonia. You represent that your use of Syntonia does not make Syntonia a business associate of you or anyone else, and any health-related information stored here despite this section is stored at your sole risk and sole responsibility.
5.2 Schools and student records (FERPA). If you use Syntonia at, for, or on behalf of a school, school district, or other educational agency or institution, the school remains solely responsible for its compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"), applicable state student-data-privacy laws, and its own policies — including deciding what student information may be entered into Syntonia, providing any required notices, obtaining any required consents, and determining that its use of the service is permissible. Syntonia acts only as the school's service provider: we use student information solely to provide the service at the school's direction; we do not use it for advertising, do not sell it, do not build student profiles for non-educational purposes, and do not use it to train machine-learning models; and we will delete it at the school's request, as described in our Privacy Policy. Syntonia does not determine whether any particular school's use complies with FERPA — that determination is the school's. By adding student information, you represent that you have the authority, notices, and consents needed to do so.
5.3 Prohibited Data. Regardless of who you are, you agree never to upload, store, or transmit through Syntonia: PHI or other individually identifiable health, clinical, or therapy records; Social Security numbers or other government-issued identification numbers; full payment-card numbers, bank credentials, or similar financial account data (Stripe's hosted checkout is the only place payment data belongs — see Section 9); biometric identifiers; or any other data whose handling would impose regulatory obligations on Syntonia beyond those stated in these Terms (together, "Prohibited Data"). We do not want Prohibited Data, we do not knowingly collect it, and we may remove it if we become aware of it. You are solely responsible for any Prohibited Data you submit, and the indemnification in Section 15 applies to it.
You may upload files, audio samples, sheet music, lesson materials, messages, and practice submissions ("Your Content"). You retain ownership of Your Content. You represent that you own or have the rights to everything you upload and that sharing it within your Studio does not violate any third party's license, copyright, or other rights.
You grant Syntonia a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, copy, transmit, and display Your Content solely as needed to operate the service and make it available to the members of your own Studio. This license exists only to run the service for you — we do not sell Your Content, we do not use it to advertise, and we do not use it to train machine-learning models. The license ends when Your Content is deleted from active storage, except for residual copies that may persist briefly in routine backups.
Syntonia is a neutral host under the U.S. DMCA §512(c) safe harbor: we do not pre-screen uploads, we remove infringing material on a valid takedown notice, and we terminate repeat infringers. You agree to indemnify and hold Syntonia harmless against claims arising from content you upload or share.
The Syntonia software, website, design, look and feel, and the "Syntonia" name and logos are owned by Syntonia and its licensors and are protected by intellectual-property laws. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-transferable license to access and use the service in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to: copy, modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, resell, sublicense, or create derivative works of the platform; use any automated system (such as bots, robots, scrapers, or spiders) to access the service; or circumvent, disable, or interfere with any security or access-control features. We reserve all rights not expressly granted.
Live calls run through a third-party video provider and are not recorded by Syntonia by default. During a lesson, note/MIDI data may be relayed between participants to keep the on-screen instrument in sync; this is transient and used only to power the live session. Your use of the video provider is also subject to that provider's own terms.
9.1 A Studio’s subscription to Syntonia. If Syntonia charges a Studio to use the app, that subscription is billed through Stripe under Stripe’s terms. Subscription fees are charged in advance for the billing period selected and, except where required by law, are non-refundable. You are responsible for canceling before a renewal if you do not wish to be charged again, and applicable taxes may be added.
9.2 Payments a Studio collects from its own students. Syntonia offers optional tools that let a Studio accept payments from its students and their parents — for single lessons, recurring tuition (subscriptions), and courses. These payments are processed by Stripe through a Stripe-connected account that the Studio sets up and controls. The Studio is the seller and merchant of record for everything it sells; Syntonia is only the software that initiates the charge on the Studio’s behalf. Syntonia does not hold Studio funds, set a Studio’s prices, or take any commission or platform fee on a Studio’s sales — money flows directly to the Studio’s own Stripe account, and payout timing, balances, reserves, and account status are governed by Stripe.
9.3 Card data and PCI. Card and bank details are entered on Stripe’s hosted, PCI-compliant checkout. Syntonia never sees or stores full card numbers, bank credentials, or similar payment data. Your use of payments is also subject to the Stripe Services Agreement and, for Studios, Stripe’s Connected Account Agreement; a Studio must comply with Stripe’s rules and provide accurate business and identity information.
9.4 Prices, refunds, cancellations, and disputes. All decisions about prices, refunds, cancellations, free trials, chargebacks, and taxes on a Studio’s sales are between the Studio and its student or the student’s parent. A student who wants a refund or to stop a recurring payment should contact their Studio; recurring payments can also be canceled in-app, which stops future renewals but does not by itself refund past charges. Syntonia is not responsible for any lost, stolen, missed, late, refunded, or disputed payment between a Studio and its students, and is not a party to those transactions. Each Studio is solely responsible for charging, collecting, and remitting any taxes on its sales and for complying with any consumer-protection, automatic-renewal, or refund-disclosure laws that apply to it.
You agree not to use Syntonia for anything unlawful, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or infringing; not to upload content that is pornographic, hateful, threatening, or that endangers a person's safety; not to attempt to access another Studio's data; not to probe, scan, or disrupt the service or its security; and not to upload malware or attempt to circumvent usage limits. We may, but are not obligated to, monitor and remove content that violates these Terms, and accounts may be suspended or terminated for violations.
The service may link to or integrate third-party services that we do not control — for example the video provider, embedded YouTube videos, our email provider, and Stripe for subscription billing. We are not responsible for the content, policies, or practices of those third parties, and your use of them is at your own risk and subject to their own terms and privacy policies.
We work to keep the service available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. We may add, change, suspend, or discontinue features, and we may perform maintenance that temporarily affects availability. We will make reasonable efforts to give notice of material changes that affect you.
The service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, secure, or free of bugs, errors, or viruses, and we are not responsible for problems caused by the internet, your connection, or third-party services. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of these exclusions may not apply to you.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Syntonia will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, revenue, profits, goodwill, or reputation, arising under these Terms or out of your use of (or inability to use) the service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Syntonia's total aggregate liability for any claim arising under these Terms or your use of the service will not exceed the greater of (a) the total amount you paid Syntonia for the service in the twelve (12) months before the claim, or (b) US $100. Some jurisdictions do not allow these limitations, so they may not fully apply to you.
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Syntonia and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from or related to: (i) your use of, or inability to use, the service; (ii) Your Content; (iii) your interactions with any other user (including the conduct or supervision of lessons and minors); (iv) your violation of these Terms or of any law or third-party right; or (v) any Prohibited Data or other regulated information you submit to the service, including any claim that Syntonia should have been treated as a business associate under HIPAA or that your use violated FERPA, COPPA, or a state student-privacy law (see Section 5).
You may stop using the service and request deletion of your account at any time from your Profile. We may suspend or terminate access for violations of these Terms or to protect the service or its users. On termination, your right to use the service ends; data handling after termination is described in our Privacy Policy. Sections that by their nature should survive termination — including ownership and intellectual property, the license you grant in Section 6, your responsibilities for regulated data in Section 5, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and the general provisions below — will survive.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Louisiana, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, and you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of Louisiana for any dispute arising under these Terms. If any consumer-protection law of your home jurisdiction grants you rights that cannot be waived, nothing here limits those rights.
Studios and teachers are independent and run their own businesses. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, agency, franchise, or employment relationship between you and Syntonia, and you may not make any commitment or representation on Syntonia's behalf.
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Syntonia regarding the service and supersede any prior agreements. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remain in full force. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. Section headings are for convenience only.
We may update these Terms as the service evolves. We will revise the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, take reasonable steps to notify Studios. Changes take effect when posted (or on the effective date we state), and your continued use of the service after that means you accept the updated Terms.
Some of the promotional and marketing graphics produced for this website are assembled using free, openly-licensed design resources — for example open-source icon sets, illustrations, background patterns, typefaces, and similar assets that their creators make available for free commercial use. Not all assets used on the site are sourced this way, and where such resources are used we use only those whose own licenses permit free commercial use. Each such asset remains the property of its original creator and is used in accordance with that creator's license; all trademarks, names, and assets belong to their respective owners, who do not endorse Syntonia.
A number of these resources were discovered through the community-curated, open-source list maintained at github.com/bradtraversy/design-resources-for-developers, which we gratefully acknowledge. If you believe any asset has been used here outside the terms of its license, please contact us at support@harmonialessons.com and we will promptly review and, where appropriate, remove or replace it.
Questions about these Terms? Email support@harmonialessons.com.