Your practice companion
Turn Practice Into Progress
Ostinato is an online practice tool and tracker. Built by music teachers for music teachers to help your pupils and the adults who help them at home. With helpful features such as audio recording, a built-in metronome, practice tracking charts and student feedback, you can plan your lesson around your pupil before they walk in the door.
For private teachers, school and peripatetic teachers, and music services across the UK.
Made by music teachers, for music teachers
Ostinato is made in the UK by Caitlin, a strings teacher, and Alex, a developer and musician: a simple practice tool for teachers, pupils and the adults who help them at home.
“As a strings teacher, I felt there was a huge variation between a pupil’s playing in a lesson and how they practised at home. Gone are the days of scribbling in a practice diary at the end of a lesson: with Ostinato, I can add clear, concise and trackable practice targets, closing the gap between my learners, their adults at home and myself.”
“I built Ostinato together with Caitlin to help her keep on top of her students’ progress. I’m proud that our app is super simple, fun to use and careful with children’s data.”
Sound familiar?
“Did you practise much since last time?”
“…a bit.”
“I left my practice diary at home. Again.”
You only find out what went wrong when they’re back in front of you at the next lesson.
We’ve been there too. Ostinato puts the practice where the family already is, on their phone, so you know how it’s been going before your pupil walks in the door.
How it works
Add your pupils
Add a pupil and the email of an adult at home. They get a link to join. No passwords, no app store, and siblings with different teachers all live in one place.
Set the practice after each lesson
Record what to practise and how many practice sessions before the next lesson. Add a personal note, or a quick recording of how it should sound. Teach a group? Set the practice once and every child gets their own, ready for the adults at home to see.
They practise at home
Each session, your pupil plays, records a bit if they like, and says how it went: loved it, felt easy, tricky bits, or need help. Every session finished adds a note to their melody, and a full set earns a sticker. No streaks to break, nothing to lose for missing a day.
You hear how it’s going
See who’s practising at a glance. Listen to recordings when you have a moment, or at the start of a lesson. Hear how practice has actually been going, first hand.
An extra tool,
not an extra task.
Ostinato isn’t another inbox to keep on top of. There’s nothing you have to answer between lessons: open it at the start of the next lesson and catch up in a minute. If you’d like to reply in between, you can, whenever it suits you.
Easy for families
Adults at home get everything in one place, completely free.
- No passwords. Join from the email link, then sign in with a code.
- No app to download. It works on any phone, tablet or computer.
- Siblings in one account, even with different teachers.
- Feedback from the teacher, for the pupil and the adults at home to read together.
- Celebrates practice done, with no streaks, no nagging notifications, no ads.
Safe for schools, kind to children
Built from day one for children’s data and UK rules, so the questions your school or music service will ask already have answers.
Stored in the UK
Practice, notes and recordings are stored in the UK.
Follows the Children’s Code
Private by default. No profiles, no sharing, no profiling, no nudges.
No ads or tracking
No analytics, no cookies for tracking, nothing sold, ever.
Recordings stay private
Only the child’s family and teacher can hear them, and they’re automatically deleted after a year.
Paperwork done
A data protection impact assessment and teacher terms come ready to adopt.
You stay in control
Remove access, a message or a recording in a tap. Download or delete a pupil’s data any time.
Questions
How much does it cost?
It’s free during the beta. Families never pay.
Which instruments does it work for?
Any instrument, and voice. If you can practise it, you can track it.
Do families need to download an app?
No. Ostinato runs in the web browser on any phone, tablet or computer, and can be added to the home screen. Families sign in with a code we email them.
Can I use it for group lessons?
Yes. Make a group, set the practice once, and each pupil gets their own practice sessions and their own feedback.
Can older pupils have their own login?
No: the login always belongs to an adult at home, who can let the pupil use it.
Does it do invoicing or scheduling?
No, on purpose. Ostinato does one job, the practice, so you can keep using whatever works for the business side of teaching.
Where is the data stored?
In the UK. There are no ads, no tracking and no analytics, and recordings are automatically deleted after a year. Read how we look after data.
Be one of our first teachers
We’re opening Ostinato to a small group of UK teachers. Tell us a little about your teaching and we’ll set you up.
Email hello@ostinatoapp.co.uk