Setting up Obsidian and Syncthing with external storage to document piano training, lessons, media, etc.

Over the past several months, I have accumulated many PDFs of practice piano sheets, many piano scores that I printed out, and many lessons that I downloaded. And I got to the point where the amount of information I had was kind of overwhelming me as to what to focus on to continue learning and improving my piano skills, which was THE POINT of the whole thing. After a long debate, I decided Obsidian was what I was going to use and I was also going to use Syncthing, so that I could put everything in my Proxmox Samba storage VM. In this case, it is the same VM that holds all my piano videos, so whatever I did on my laptop was automatically synced to my Samba storage VM. This project, therefore, is helping me learn about Obsidian as a more comprehensive note-taking, task-building app, Syncthing, and how that is all set up and how it works, and ultimately make me a better piano player through improved focus, documentation, and efficiency of practice.

Posted Jan 26, 2026 Updated Jan 31, 2026

By Calabi Yau

12 min read

Obsidian Piano Learning System Documentation

Created: January 27, 2026 System: Obsidian with Sync thing for cross-device sync
Devices: Linux Mint laptop (lpt-hp), Ubuntu VM (obsidian-vm at 192.168.1.83), iOS (planned)

System Overview
Why Syncthing vs Rsync
Current Setup
Vault Structure
Templates
Next Steps
Troubleshooting

System Overview

This system provides a comprehensive documentation platform for piano learning that syncs across devices:

Linux Mint laptop: Primary note-taking and practice documentation
Ubuntu VM (obsidian-vm): Central sync hub running Syncthing in Docker
iOS devices: Mobile access for practice session notes (pending setup)

The vault contains structured folders for daily practice logs, music theory concepts, lesson notes, song analysis, and sheet music.

Why Syncthing vs Rsync

Rsync is designed for one-way backups - pushing data from source to destination on a schedule (like your Samsung T7 backups).

Syncthing provides two-way, real-time sync needed for this workflow:

Write practice notes on iPad/iPhone at the piano
Review and expand those notes on laptop
Reference notes on phone while at piano
All devices need to both read AND write, staying in sync automatically

Rsync cannot do this - it’s unidirectional and requires manual execution. Syncthing watches for changes on all devices, syncs bidirectionally in real-time, and handles conflicts automatically.

Think of it as:

Rsync = scheduled backup truck (one direction, on schedule)
Syncthing = self-hosted Dropbox (bidirectional, real-time, on your infrastructure)

Current Setup

Network Configuration

Linux Mint Laptop (lpt-hp)
    <--> Syncthing sync
Ubuntu VM (obsidian-vm)
    - IP: 192.168.1.83
    - Tailscale IP: 100.78.230.66
    - Docker container running Syncthing
    <--> Syncthing sync (planned)
iOS devices
    - Will connect via Mobius Sync app
    - Uses Tailscale IP for secure connection

Docker Configuration (obsidian-vm)

Location: /home/mark/syncthing/docker-compose.yml

  
services:
  syncthing:
    image: syncthing/syncthing:latest
    container_name: syncthing
    hostname: obsidian-vm
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
    volumes:
      - ./config:/var/syncthing/config
      - ./vault:/var/syncthing
    network_mode: host
    restart: unless-stopped

Key points:

network_mode: host enables proper local device discovery (recommended by Syncthing official docs)
Volume mapping: ./vault:/var/syncthing means files in container’s /var/syncthing are stored at /home/mark/syncthing/vault/ on VM
restart: unless-stopped ensures Syncthing starts automatically after VM reboots

File Paths

Laptop:

Vault location: /home/mark/Piano/
Syncthing config: ~/.config/syncthing/
Syncthing runs as systemd user service

VM (obsidian-vm):

Container path: /var/syncthing/Piano/ (inside Docker container)
Actual filesystem: /home/mark/syncthing/vault/Piano/ (on VM)
Accessible via: sftp://192.168.1.83/home/mark/syncthing/vault/

Installation Steps

Part 1: Install Tailscale on VM

Why first: Tailscale provides the secure connection that iOS will use to reach the VM.

SSH into obsidian-vm (192.168.1.83)

Install Tailscale:

  
curl -fsSL https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/ubuntu/noble.noarmor.gpg | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/tailscale-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
curl -fsSL https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/ubuntu/noble.tailscale-list | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tailscale.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install tailscale

Start and authenticate Tailscale:
1 sudo tailscale up
- This will give you a URL to authenticate in your browser
- Complete authentication
Verify and get Tailscale IP:
1 tailscale ip -4
- Result: 100.78.230.66 (save this for iOS setup later)

Set hostname (optional but recommended):

  
sudo tailscale set --hostname obsidian-vm

Enable on boot:
1 sudo systemctl enable tailscaled

Part 2: Install Syncthing on VM (Docker)

Why Docker: Keeps Syncthing isolated and easy to manage/update.

Still SSH’d into obsidian-vm, create directories:

  
mkdir -p ~/syncthing/{config,vault}
cd ~/syncthing

Create docker-compose.yml:
1 nano docker-compose.yml
Paste this content (based on official Syncthing Docker documentation): ```yaml services: syncthing: image: syncthing/syncthing:latest container_name: syncthing hostname: obsidian-vm environment:
- PUID=1000
- PGID=1000 volumes:
- ./config:/var/syncthing/config
- ./vault:/var/syncthing network_mode: host restart: unless-stopped ```
- Save: Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X
- Note: network_mode: host is recommended by Syncthing for proper device discovery
Start Syncthing:
1 docker compose up -d
Verify it’s running:
1 docker ps
- Should show syncthing container with status “Up”
Access web UI from your laptop browser:
- Go to: http://192.168.1.83:8384
Set authentication (critical security step):
- Click “Actions” (top right) → “Settings”
- Click “GUI” tab
- Scroll down to “GUI Authentication User” and “GUI Authentication Password”
- Enter username and password
- Click “Save”
- Sign in with credentials you just created
Note the Device ID:
- On main dashboard, look at “This Device” section
- Device ID: NFKAIYI-ON7FS3R-U2P7BK7-DKNM6QS-KFN5A2K-CJVQ7JV-XKSNDXI-HHZGIQB
- You’ll need this to connect other devices

Part 3: Install Syncthing on Laptop

On Linux Mint laptop, open terminal:
1 sudo apt install syncthing

Enable Syncthing to run as a user service:

  
systemctl --user enable syncthing
systemctl --user start syncthing

Verify it’s running:
1 systemctl --user status syncthing
- Should show “active (running)”
Access laptop’s Syncthing web UI:
- Open browser on laptop
- Go to: http://localhost:8384
Set authentication:
- You may be prompted immediately, or:
- Click “Actions” → “Settings” → “GUI” tab
- Set username and password
- Save and sign in

Part 4: Connect Laptop to VM

On laptop’s Syncthing (localhost:8384):
- Click “+ Add Remote Device” (in Remote Devices section)
- In “Device ID” field, paste VM’s device ID:
  1 NFKAIYI-ON7FS3R-U2P7BK7-DKNM6QS-KFN5A2K-CJVQ7JV-XKSNDXI-HHZGIQB
- In “Device Name” field, enter: obsidian-vm
- Click “Save”
On VM’s Syncthing (192.168.1.83:8384):
- You should see a notification popup: “New Device”
- Shows device ID starting with LPTHP
- Click “Add”
- In “Device Name” field, enter: lpt-hp
- Click “Save”
Verify connection:
- On laptop: Remote Devices should show “obsidian-vm” as “Connected”
- On VM: Remote Devices should show “lpt-hp” as “Connected”

On laptop, create Piano directory:
1 mkdir -p ~/Piano
On laptop’s Syncthing web UI:
- Click “+ Add Folder”
- Folder Label: Piano
- Folder Path: ~/Piano (or /home/mark/Piano)
- Note the auto-generated Folder ID (example: zsczc-mtjtp)
- Click “Sharing” tab
- Check box next to “obsidian-vm”
- Click “Save”
On VM’s Syncthing web UI:
- You should see notification: “New folder shared from lpt-hp”
- Click “Add”
- Important: In “Folder Path” field, enter: /var/syncthing/Piano
  - This is the path inside the Docker container
  - Maps to /home/mark/syncthing/vault/Piano on the VM’s actual filesystem
- Click “Save”
Verify sync is working:
- Both dashboards should show Piano folder as “Up to Date”
Test the sync:
1 2 # On laptop echo "test" > ~/Piano/test.txt
- Check on VM via file browser or SSH:
  - Path: /home/mark/syncthing/vault/Piano/test.txt
  - Or via sftp: sftp://192.168.1.83/home/mark/syncthing/vault/
- File should appear within seconds

Part 6: Create Vault Structure

On laptop, create folder structure:

  
cd ~/Piano
mkdir -p Daily-Practice Concepts Music-Lessons Songs Sequences Sheet-Music templates

Create practice session template:
1 nano ~/Piano/templates/practice-session.md
- Paste the template content (see Templates section below)
- Save: Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X
Create song template:
1 nano ~/Piano/templates/song.md
- Paste the template content (see Templates section below)
- Save: Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X
Verify sync:
- All folders and templates should sync to VM automatically
- Check both Syncthing dashboards show “Up to Date”

Installation complete! Laptop and VM are now syncing the Piano vault.

Current System Status

VM (obsidian-vm):

IP: 192.168.1.83
Tailscale IP: 100.78.230.66
Syncthing Web UI: http://192.168.1.83:8384
Device ID: NFKAIYI-ON7FS3R-U2P7BK7-DKNM6QS-KFN5A2K-CJVQ7JV-XKSNDXI-HHZGIQB
Running: Docker container with Syncthing
Vault location: /home/mark/syncthing/vault/Piano/

Linux Mint Laptop (lpt-hp):

Syncthing Web UI: http://localhost:8384
Running: systemd user service
Vault location: /home/mark/Piano/
Connected to: obsidian-vm

Sync Status:

Piano folder syncing successfully between laptop and VM
Folder ID: zsczc-mtjtp
Both devices show “Up to Date”

Shared Folders

Piano vault:

Folder ID: zsczc-mtjtp
Laptop path: /home/mark/Piano/
VM path: /var/syncthing/Piano/
Status: Syncing successfully between laptop and VM

Test verification:

  
# On laptop
echo "test" > ~/Piano/test.txt

# Check on VM via sftp
sftp://192.168.1.83/home/mark/syncthing/vault/Piano/test.txt

Result: VERIFIED: File syncs successfully

Vault Structure

Piano/
          �    � Daily-Practice/          # Daily practice session logs
          �    � Concepts/                # Music theory concepts, techniques
          �    � Music-Lessons/           # Lesson notes from piano teacher
          �    � Songs/                   # Individual song analysis and notes
          �    � Sequences/               # Chord progressions, patterns
          �    � Sheet-Music/             # PDF storage for sheet music
          �    � templates/               # Note templates
              �    � practice-session.md
              �    � song.md

Folder Purposes

Daily-Practice/

One note per practice session
Use practice-session.md template
Link to concepts and songs practiced
Track progress over time

Concepts/

Music theory topics (inversions, voicings, progressions)
Technique notes
Referenced from daily practice notes

Music-Lessons/

Notes from each lesson
Homework assignments
Teacher feedback

Songs/

One note per song/piece
Use song.md template
Link to sheet music
Document chord progressions, voicings used

Sequences/

Chord progression patterns (ii-V-I, etc.)
Practice sequences
Referenced from songs that use them

Sheet-Music/

PDF storage
Linked from song notes

Templates

practice-session.md

Location: ~/Piano/templates/practice-session.md

  
---
date: 
duration: 
tempo: 
---

## Warm-up
- 

## Focus Areas
- 

## New Concepts
- 

## Chord Work
**Progressions practiced:**
- 

**Voicings:**
- 

**Inversions:**
- 

## Songs/Pieces
- 

## What I Learned
- 

## Next Session
- 

Usage:

Create new daily note in Daily-Practice/
Copy template content
Fill in as you practice
Link to concepts: [[Chord Inversions]]
Tag progressions: #ii-V-I

song.md

Location: ~/Piano/templates/song.md

  
---
title: 
composer: 
key: 
tempo: 
difficulty: 
---

## Sheet Music
- Location: [[Sheet-Music/]]

## Chord Progression
- 

## Sections
### Intro

### Verse

### Chorus

## Practice Notes
- 

## Voicings Used
- 

## Related Concepts
- 

Usage:

Create new note in Songs/ folder
Name it after the song
Link to sheet music PDF
Document chord progressions used
Link to related concept notes

Next Steps

Immediate (Next Session)

Install Obsidian on Linux Mint laptop

  
# Download latest .deb from https://obsidian.md
wget https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-releases/releases/download/v1.7.7/obsidian_1.7.7_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i obsidian_1.7.7_amd64.deb

Open Obsidian and create vault
- Launch Obsidian
- Select “Open folder as vault”
- Navigate to /home/mark/Piano
- Vault will open with existing folder structure
Configure Obsidian settings
- Enable core plugins:
  - Templates (set folder: templates/)
  - Daily notes (set folder: Daily-Practice/, template: templates/practice-session.md)
  - Graph view
  - Backlinks
  - Tags
- Install community plugins:
  - Templater (enhanced templates)
  - Calendar (visual practice tracking)
  - Dataview (query practice sessions)
  - Excalidraw (draw chord diagrams)
Configure useful hotkeys
- Daily note: Default or customize
- Quick switcher: Ctrl+O
- Search all notes: Ctrl+Shift+F
- Create link: [[
Test workflow
- Create a daily practice note
- Use template
- Add some content
- Verify it syncs to VM
- Check VM at: sftp://192.168.1.83/home/mark/syncthing/vault/Piano/

iOS Setup (Future Session)

Configure Mobius Sync on iOS
- Open Mobius Sync app
- Add device using VM’s Tailscale IP: 100.78.230.66
- Enter VM’s Device ID when prompted
- Accept connection on VM’s Syncthing dashboard
- Share Piano folder with iOS device
Configure Obsidian on iOS
- Open Obsidian app
- Create/open vault pointing to Mobius Sync folder
- Piano folder should appear
- Test creating a note on iOS
- Verify it syncs to laptop and VM
Workflow testing
- Create note on laptop → verify on iOS
- Create note on iOS → verify on laptop
- Edit same note on both → test conflict resolution

Optional Enhancements

Backup strategy

Piano vault already syncs to VM

Consider adding rsync backup from VM to Samsung T7

# Add to existing backup script
rsync -avz /home/mark/syncthing/vault/Piano/ /path/to/t7/backups/Piano/

Access from other devices
- Syncthing can run on any device
- Could add Windows machines, other Linux systems
- All would sync through obsidian-vm hub
Version control
- Could add git repository for vault
- Track changes over time
- Not necessary with Syncthing’s file versioning, but adds extra safety

Troubleshooting

Syncthing Not Syncing

Check connection status:

  
# On laptop
systemctl --user status syncthing

# On VM
cd ~/syncthing
docker ps
docker logs syncthing

Verify devices are connected:

Open both Syncthing web UIs
Check “Remote Devices” section
Should show “Connected” not “Disconnected”

Check folder status:

Should show “Up to Date” or sync percentage
If “Stopped” or “Error” - check folder paths

Permission Issues on VM

If Syncthing can’t write to vault:

  
# On VM
cd ~/syncthing
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 vault/

Syncthing Not Starting After Reboot

Laptop:

  
systemctl --user enable syncthing
systemctl --user start syncthing

VM:

cd ~/syncthing
docker compose up -d

Files Not Appearing in Obsidian

Possible causes:

Syncthing not running
Folder not shared with device
Path mismatch in Syncthing config

Verification:

  
# Check if files exist on filesystem
ls -la ~/Piano/
ls -la /home/mark/syncthing/vault/Piano/  # On VM via SSH

Conflict Resolution

When same file edited on multiple devices simultaneously:

Syncthing creates .sync-conflict files
Both versions preserved
Manually merge changes
Delete conflict file after merging

Web UI Not Accessible

Laptop (localhost:8384):

Check if Syncthing running: systemctl --user status syncthing
Check firewall (shouldn’t affect localhost)

VM (192.168.1.83:8384):

Check Docker container: docker ps
Check network_mode: host in docker-compose.yml
Verify authentication credentials

Maintenance

Regular Tasks

Weekly:

Check Syncthing dashboards for any errors
Verify all devices showing “Connected”
Check disk space on VM

Monthly:

Review and organize vault structure
Archive old practice sessions if desired
Update Syncthing (both laptop and VM container)

Updates

Laptop Syncthing:

  
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade syncthing
systemctl --user restart syncthing

VM Syncthing (Docker):

cd ~/syncthing
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Obsidian:

Updates automatically on launch
Or download latest .deb and reinstall

Important Device Information

Syncthing Device IDs

obsidian-vm:

NFKAIYI-ON7FS3R-U2P7BK7-DKNM6QS-KFN5A2K-CJVQ7JV-XKSNDXI-HHZGIQB

lpt-hp (laptop):

Device ID visible in laptop’s Syncthing UI at localhost:8384
Listed as “This Device”

Network Addresses