Why We Built CantoBase
The story behind CantoBase: built after watching independent music teachers drown in admin work that tools like Jackrabbit were never designed to solve.
Every private music teacher we talked to told us some version of the same story. They got into this to teach music. They ended up spending half their free time chasing parents for payment, rescheduling lessons over text, and copy-pasting practice assignments into emails that may or may not get opened.
That is not a small problem. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there are over 170,000 music teachers working in the US as of 2024, and most of them run independent studios. Almost none of them have any real back-office help. The admin is the teacher.
The tools that exist were built for someone else
If you search “music studio software” you get results that were mostly designed for 20+ teacher academies. Tools like Jackrabbit Music and Opus1.io are good at what they do, but they charge around $49 per month as a base, add fees per student, and assume you have a front desk person to run them.
The other option is stitching together Venmo, Google Calendar, a spreadsheet, and whatever reminder app you like. That works until about 20 students, and then it does not.
There was a gap in the middle: the one-teacher or two-teacher studio that just wants to stop losing an evening a week to billing. That is who we built CantoBase for.
Three rules we will not break
Early on, we wrote down a few rules that every feature in CantoBase has to follow.
Parents should never need to log in. The practice portal, lesson notes, and make-up booking all work through a signed link. You send one URL, the parent taps it, everything works. No app install, no password reset emails, no “I forgot which email I used”.
Billing should happen whether you are paying attention or not. Parents save a card once. Payments run on the 1st. Failed payments retry and email the parent automatically. You see everything in one place.
Cancellation and make-up rules should enforce themselves. You write the policy once. Parents cancel through their portal. The app applies your rules (24-hour notice, monthly make-up cap, whatever you decide) without you being in the middle of it.
If a feature does not fit these rules, it does not ship. Simple as that.
What is actually in the product
As of April 2026, CantoBase covers:
- A student roster with family grouping (siblings live under one household, one invoice)
- Practice assignments with file attachments (PDFs, audio, YouTube links)
- Lesson notes with a visibility toggle for each note (parent-visible or teacher-only)
- A cancellation policy engine that enforces notice windows and monthly caps
- Family billing with combined household rates and one consolidated invoice per cycle
- A lead inbox with an embeddable inquiry form for your website
- A parent portal that works from a link, no account required
You can see all of it on the features page or just start a trial and click around.
Pricing that does not punish growth
Most tools in this space add cost as you grow. Add a student: pay more. Add a teacher: pay a lot more.
We went the other direction. CantoBase has two plans:
- Starter at $15 per month, up to 30 students. Plenty for most solo teachers.
- Studio at $29 per month, unlimited students and unlimited additional teachers at $5 per seat.
Yearly billing gets you 2 months free on both plans. There is a 30-day free trial. You do not need a credit card to try it.
Who we are
CantoBase is built by one person who spent 20 years in software, watching family members and friends teach music while fighting their own tools. The goal is not to build the biggest studio-management platform. The goal is to build the one that solo teachers and small studios would actually recommend to the teacher down the street.
If that sounds like your situation, the 30-day trial is free. If it does not fit, you walk away and we part on good terms. That is the deal.
Frequently asked questions
Is CantoBase a replacement for My Music Staff or Jackrabbit?
For solo teachers and studios with under 30 students, yes. For large multi-campus academies with 50+ staff, probably not yet. We cover billing, scheduling, practice assignments, lesson notes, make-ups, and leads, which is what most independent teachers actually use day to day.
Do parents need to download an app?
No. Parents get a link. They tap it, they see assignments, they can cancel or book a make-up within your policy. No account, no app, no password.
How much does CantoBase cost?
$15 per month for up to 30 students on Starter, or $29 per month for unlimited on Studio. Yearly billing saves you 2 months. See the pricing page for details.
Can I try it before paying?
Yes. Every account starts with a 30-day free trial. No card required to sign up.