Sonata
Bring parents into the music.
Talk for 60 seconds after your lesson.
Sonata creates a summary about what their child is learning and why the skills they're building matter.
How do I explain that the lesson mattered?Parents don't quit lessons because teachers are bad. They quit because they can't see the work.
Retention isn't a marketing problem — it's a visibility problem. Sonata closes that gap, illustrating outcomes parents can see — what was practiced, what's next, and why it matters. You press send.
The Sunday-night "I should have emailed the Garcias" is over.
Keep your studio manager. Replace your lesson notes.
How it works
1. Record.
Tap record. Teach normally. Or skip recording and dictate all you covered afterwards — same result.2. Summarize
In 30 seconds you get a parent-facing email, refined progress notes, and the week's practice goals.3. Send.
One tap emails the parent, saves on their timeline and a copy lands in your Google Drive — an archive that follows the student forever.
Built by a teacher,
for teachers
I'm CJ.I teach guitar and piano near Seattle, and run Shoreline Music Lessons. After six years of staying late to write notes I'd half-forget by morning, I built Sonata. Because I needed it.This is the tool I wished I had — built in the open, with teachers like you, so it actually solves the right problems.
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© CJ Stout. All rights reserved.
Sonata
Sonata helps teachers finish lessons one at a time cleanly:
record - summarize -send
Sonata
What happens when you record a lesson with SonataAudio is uploaded, transcribed by OpenAI, and deleted from Sonata's server immediately. The transcript and summary live in your account, visible only to you. We don't sell, share, or train on your data.— CJ, music teacher building this for music teachers-The path of a recording1. You tap record. Audio is captured in your browser.
2. Sonata uploads it, sends it to OpenAI for transcription.
3. The transcript comes back. The audio is deleted from Sonata's server immediately.
4. The transcript and summary land in your Sonata account. Only you can see them.
5. If you've connected Google Drive, a copy of the summary saves to your Drive folder. Your account, your files.You decide what goes to the parent. Sonata never sends on your behalf.-Two ways to use SonataRecord the full lesson. Sonata captures the lesson, the AI builds the summary from what was said.Or use it as a dictation tool. Skip recording the lesson itself. After the lesson, narrate everything you covered. Sonata builds the summary from that.The dictation option is there for teachers and families who'd rather not record a full lesson — including any time a parent declines recording.-What we don't do- We don't sell your data. There's nothing to sell.
- We don't share lesson content with anyone outside the parent emails you choose to send.
- We don't train AI on your lessons. Not OpenAI's, not anyone's.
- We don't email parents on your behalf. You press send. Always.-About OpenAITranscription runs through OpenAI under terms we picked deliberately: they don't train models on lesson audio, and audio is deleted within 30 days after abuse monitoring. Their full policy is at platform.openai.com.-QuestionsEmail [email protected]. It comes to me. I read everything.— CJ
Sonata
You're in.
Here's everything you need to get started.
The core flow is three steps:
Record → Summarize → Send
That's it. Set up takes about 10 minutes
from sign-in to summary.
You'll receive an email from me within 24 hours
with your personal access link once your
submission is reviewed.
Before your first lesson, read the Quick-Start Guide below.
It takes 5 minutes and answers everything.
Step 1 — Sign in
Tap Continue with Google and sign in with your Gmail account.
You'll see a screen that says "Google hasn't verified this app." This is a standard Google notice for apps in beta testing — it's not a warning about your data. Tap Continue. You're safe.
Step 2 — Add your first student
Tap Log Lesson on the dashboard. You'll be prompted to select a student. Since you're new, tap Add Student and enter:
Student first name
Instrument (optional)
That's all you need to get started. Parent email and lesson schedule can be added later from the Students page
Step 3 — Record or dictate your first lesson
Tap Log Lesson on the dashboard
Select your student from the dropdown
Tap Start Recording — your browser will ask for microphone access, tap Allow and keep your screen on during recording —
don't press the lock button.
Teach your lesson normally..
When you're done, tap Stop Recording
Wait while Sonata transcribes and generates a summary
Review and — edit anything you want.
Tap Save & Email Parent, or Copy Summary to send another way.
Sending summaries
After your summary generates, tap Open in mail or Copy Summary and paste it into any email or text to the family.
To send directly within Sonata — See the full guide below for Gmail setup.
Consent
Before recording a lesson with a student under 18, get parent permission. Sonata provides a consent email template you can paste and send — most parents say yes, many appreciate the transparency.If a family declines recording, you can still use Sonata for dictation: narrate your lesson however comes naturally and the parent gets the same weekly summary email. Their comfort and your time both stay intact.Get the parent consent email template: