Frequently Asked Questions

MusEdLab.ai is a suite of AI-powered tools built specifically for music educators — by music educators. Tools include Rehearsal Prep, Repertoire Finder, Lesson Plan, Warm-Up Generator, Practice Guide, Concert Program, Dynamic Map, and Tempo Map, plus a Play hub of music games (including Note Catcher and Staff Climber) that don't require sign-in.

MusEdLab was built by Matt Woodward and Cathryne Hamsher — two music educators who were frustrated that AI tools kept being built for education without anyone thinking about music teachers specifically. No VC money, no investor pressure. Just teachers helping teachers.

All AI-powered tools in MusEdLab are built on Claude, the AI assistant made by Anthropic. Claude is one of the most capable and thoughtfully designed AI models available, with strong music knowledge and a commitment to accuracy and safety.

No! Play and Staff Climber are publicly accessible — no sign-in required. You can share the links directly with students and they can jump in immediately on any device.

MusEdLab works with any genre, era, or ensemble type — choral (SATB, SSA, TTBB, etc.), concert band, orchestra, jazz ensemble, chamber groups, and solo repertoire. If it has sheet music, MusEdLab can help you prepare it.

Mix and match Agenda, Objectives, Standards, Metronome, Tuner, Timer, Calendar, Notes, Pitch Pipe, Section Picker, Countdown, QR Share, Rehearsal Mode, Video, Spotify, Embed, Icebreaker, Rhythm Trainer, Sight-Reading, Schedule Bar, and AI Warm-Up. The board builder and non-AI widgets are free; AI Warm-Up is Pro.

Yes. Unlimited boards, non-AI widgets, and Present Mode are free and never use a credit. Podium AI (Populate, Sub Plan Generator, and On-Demand Warm-Up) and calendar sync are Pro features.

Yes. Both are fully functional and sized to read across the room, so you can set a tempo or tune the ensemble straight from your projected board. They stay live in Present Mode.

No. The Podium runs in your browser, so it works on any projector, smart board, laptop, or screen that can open a web page.

Upload a lesson plan, curriculum, or sub plan. This Pro feature suggests widgets supported by the document: Agenda, Objectives, Standards, Notes, a Concert Countdown for a concert date, a Metronome for a stated tempo, Sight-Reading, Rhythm Trainer, or Icebreaker when mentioned, and Video, Spotify, or QR Share for supported links. Nothing is added until you review and confirm.

This Podium AI Pro feature turns your current board into a plan a non-music substitute can run. Review, copy, or print it before closing; the plan is not saved and your board stays unchanged.

Yes. Move widgets by their title bars and resize with their resize handles. Double-click or double-tap a title bar to toggle front/back among overlapping widgets, including on touch smart panels.

Yes. In Edit Mode, select a source weekday and choose Copy to…. Select destination weekdays, choose Replace existing or Add to existing for any day with activities, then choose Copy activities. Titles and notes are copied; each day remains independently editable.

Yes. Your boards save to your account, so they're ready to project the next time you open The Podium. Generator and Maps results save too now — every result from those pages is kept for 30 days and reachable from the Recent results strip.

Just click "Sign in with Google" on any page. Your account is created automatically when you sign in for the first time — no form to fill out, no password to create.

First, make sure you're using the same Google account you used previously. If you're still having trouble: try clearing your browser cache, try a different browser, or try an incognito/private window. If the problem persists, send us an email.

Yes — your account is tied to your Google login, so you can sign in from any browser or device. Generator and Maps results now save to your account for 30 days, so a result you generated on one device is reachable from the Recent results strip on any other.

Send us a message and request account deletion. We'll remove your data promptly. If you have an active Pro subscription, please cancel it first from your account page.

MusEdLab is free to use with 5 tool uses per month — no credit card required. The Pro plan is $8/month and includes unlimited access to all tools, unlimited exporting, and first access to new tools as they launch.

Each time you submit a request to an AI-powered tool (Rehearsal Prep, Repertoire Finder, Lesson Plan, etc.) counts as one use. Follow-up Q&A chat messages, and refining a result with Refine with AI, do not count as additional uses. The two games (Play, Staff Climber) are always free and don't count toward your limit.

Free uses reset on the first of each calendar month.

On the Results page for Rehearsal Prep, Repertoire, Lesson Plan, Warm-Up, or Practice Guide, Refine with AI lets you nudge a result with a short text note — it's free, and you can use it up to 3 times per result. Start Over reruns the tool from scratch and costs 1 credit, same as the original generation. Maps (Dynamic Map and Tempo Map) only offer Start Over, since there's no AI text to refine — editing the map's own goal arc is always free.

Visit your account page and click "Upgrade to Pro." Payment is handled securely through Stripe. You can cancel anytime.

You can cancel at any time from your account page. Your Pro access continues until the end of your current billing period. We don't offer partial refunds for unused time.

Yes, absolutely. We believe every music educator should have access to these tools regardless of their school's budget. We'll always maintain a free tier. That's a promise.

A Generator Preset saves a class or ensemble's details once — name, ensemble type, grade level, piece, composer, session length, performance date, and notes — so you can load it on the Generators page instead of retyping the same information every time. Create and manage presets from the Generator Presets section of your account page.

30 days. A Recent results strip at the top of the Generators and Maps pages lists your recent runs — reopening one is free and doesn't use a credit or make a new AI call. After 30 days a result is automatically removed, so download or export anything you want to keep longer.

Currently, MusEdLab accepts PDF files only. Most published sheet music is available in PDF format, and scores printed from notation software (Finale, Sibelius, MuseScore) can be exported as PDF.

Yes — uploads are limited to standard PDF file sizes. Very long scores (full orchestral scores, operas) may exceed the limit. For large scores, try uploading individual movements or sections separately.

The AI can attempt to read handwritten scores, but results will be significantly less accurate than for cleanly printed or engraved music. High-contrast, clearly written notation works best. For important analyses, we recommend using published or digitally engraved scores.

Use the original publisher PDF when possible. If scanning physical scores: scan at 300 DPI or higher, use black-and-white mode (not grayscale), ensure pages are straight and fully in frame, and avoid files with excessive annotations or highlighting that obscures notation.

No. Your PDF is sent to the Anthropic API for processing and immediately deleted from our servers afterward. We do not store, retain, or use your uploaded sheet music for any other purpose.

Almost always, the fix is more specific ensemble context. Describe your students in detail: grade, experience, voicing, strengths, weaknesses, and upcoming performance context. The AI tailors everything to what you tell it. See Writing Great Ensemble Context for a full guide.

Always cross-reference AI output with the actual score — the AI is very capable but not infallible. If you spot an error, let us know. Specific examples of errors help us improve the tools over time.

The AI reads your score visually and generates its analysis from the notation itself — it doesn't need to "know" the piece from its training data. However, for lesser-known contemporary works, the composer biography and historical context sections may be less detailed.

Yes! After any Rehearsal Prep analysis, a live Q&A chat appears below the report. You can ask anything about the piece — interpretation questions, historical context, warm-up suggestions, phrasing ideas. The AI has full context of your score and ensemble description throughout the conversation.

MusEdLab does not store any student data. You describe your ensemble in general terms (grade level, experience, etc.) — no student names, IDs, or personally identifiable information is entered or stored. We do not collect or process any data covered by FERPA.

No. Your uploaded files and prompts are processed through the Anthropic API. Anthropic does not use API inputs and outputs to train their models by default under their standard API terms.

We store your Google account email and name (for login), your usage count (to enforce free tier limits), and your subscription status. That's it. We do not store your uploads, analyses, or chat conversations.

Large or complex scores can occasionally take longer to process. If it's been more than 2 minutes, try refreshing the page and submitting again. If the problem persists, try with a smaller file (e.g., a single movement rather than a full score).

First, try refreshing the page and submitting again. If you continue to get errors: check your internet connection, try a different browser, or clear your cache. If the error message is specific (like "file too large" or "unsupported format"), check the relevant FAQ sections above. Still stuck? Let us know.

All tools are designed to work on mobile, but the file upload experience can vary by browser. On iOS, use Safari for best results. On Android, use Chrome. If you're unable to upload a PDF on mobile, try using the tool on a desktop or laptop browser.

If it's been less than 30 days, yes. Reopen it for free from the Recent results strip at the top of the Generators or Maps page — no credit is used and nothing is re-generated. After 30 days, results are automatically removed and can't be recovered, so download, export, or copy anything you want to keep long-term before then.