What if you couldtalk to every lessonyou've ever had?

Arco records and organizes your lessons, creates rich lesson notes, and turns them into a private, ever-growing intelligence you can actually talk to—on iPhone, iPad, or desktop browser.

Ask Arco anything—Arco understands your own lesson history as deeply as the wider world of expert pedagogy. For every instrument, genre, and language.

Start FreeDownload on the App Store
5.0 on the App Store

As featured in

Violinist and pianist in a sunlit studio lesson with their teacher

How it works

Recording12:04
Lesson spaceSpace
Mia BennettMia B.
Heard correctly
Every name, term, and marking — transcribed exactly, not guessed.
spiccatosforzandopizzicatoTchaikovsky

Just press Record. Arco records in the background — even with the screen off.

Tap to set the instrument.
01

Just Press Record

Press record, then focus on your lesson. Arco captures the full lesson in the background, so every explanation, demonstration, and assignment is ready for notes, search, and follow-up.

Record on iPhone, iPad, or desktop web
Keeps recording in the background on iPhone and iPad, even offline
01

Just Press Record

Press record, then focus on your lesson. Arco captures the full lesson in the background, so every explanation, demonstration, and assignment is ready for notes, search, and follow-up.

Record on iPhone, iPad, or desktop web
Keeps recording in the background on iPhone and iPad, even offline
Recording12:04
Lesson spaceSpace
Mia BennettMia B.
Heard correctly
Every name, term, and marking — transcribed exactly, not guessed.
spiccatosforzandopizzicatoTchaikovsky

Just press Record. Arco records in the background — even with the screen off.

02

Every lesson becomes a pedagogical document.

Arco turns a raw recording into Lesson Notes, not meeting minutes. It understands music, technique, and repertoire, then writes a document meant for practice.

Links in the notes jump to that moment in the lesson
Technique, repertoire, assignments, and next steps
Share any lesson as a polished PDF
View actual lesson notes (PDF)

Mendelssohn Concerto — Sound and Gesture

Jun 9 · 1:13:10 · Violin
Sing the opening with a “prepared” bow arm.

The sound almost begins before the note — breath and setup first, never “made lyrical” after the fact.

Practice bars 20 to 23 using rhythms and gradually increase tempo

Mendelssohn Concerto · 1:13:10A–B Loop
04:12
1:13:10
03

The journal you already keep.

You write these things down anyway — in a notebook, on your phone, in a voice memo on the drive home. Journal brings that habit into Arco. Your entries stay private, never shared with anyone, and Arco reads them with your lessons.

Type it, or say it out loud — voice notes are transcribed for you
The more you write, the better Arco understands you
When an entry helps answer a question, Arco clearly identifies it as coming from your Journal

Journal

Private
Search your Journal
The breathing is actually helping
Jun 9Mendelssohn Concerto

Nerves noticeably better today. Two slow breaths before she starts and the bracing is gone — best the opening has felt.

Thoughts on the way home
Jun 4Voice note · 2:06

Real progress on the bow changes. When the wrist quiets down the tone opens up — but we’re back to it a third lesson running.

Recording0:14

Private to you. Journal entries are never shared with Space members — not even in a Space you share with a student.

Give me ideas to help Mia with her sound production.

Galamian’s three variables, one at a time: bow speed, weight, sounding point. And two things from your Journal:

  • Nerves tighten the right arm — the breathing is helping
  • A quieter wrist opened the tone through her bow changes
04

One lesson, shaped for each reader.

The same Lesson Notes can become a concise student version, a parent-friendly recap, or a quick review for yourself. Choose the audience, and Arco keeps the meaning while changing the voice and depth.

Student, parent, and short versions are ready in one tap
Length and tone adjust without rewriting from scratch
Original
Sound and Gesture

The sound almost begins before the note — breath and setup first, never made lyrical after the fact…

Always kept, untouched
Lesson Notes remix

Reshape for…

Ready
What to listen for at home

Listen for a singing, unforced opening — the note should feel like it begins on a breath, not a push.

  • Have Mia set the bow on the string first, then start slowly
  • Cheer the “50 in a row” challenge — repetition is the goal
05

Share lessons. Show progress.

A Space keeps a teacher and student, or a small group, in sync with the same lesson history: notes, audio, transcripts, and chat. For anyone outside Arco, export beautifully formatted Lesson Notes or a progress report as a PDF, ready to print, email, or send.

Invite with a link and keep every lesson in one shared place
Only one person has to record; everyone gets the lesson

Mia’s Space

Shared
MBEH
Mia Bennett & Elena Hart
Student & teacher · every lesson, shared
Mendelssohn Concerto — Sound and Gesture
Jun 9 · both can view & replay
Bach Partita — Chaconne shape
Jun 2 · both can view & replay
Scales & shifting — clean frames
May 26 · both can view & replay
Invite to this Space
One link adds them instantly — no account hunting.
arco.app/s/mia-bennett
Lesson notes.pdf
Beautifully formatted
Progress report.pdf
Any date range, one tap
06

Ask anything. Across every lesson.

Ask it to build an intonation guide from every correction you’ve ever given — or what Galamian recommended for bow changes.

Students can ask how they’re progressing, and what keeps recurring
Knows the pedagogical canon — Dounis, Galamian, Flesch, Fischer
Connects your Journal reflections with your lesson history
Threads + New
Left-hand tension
Spring recital plan
Bow distribution
Vibrato warmups
How do I help Mia stop tensing her left hand?
From your lessons Mia · 6 lessons
Light fingers, not harder fingers

For clean intonation, the fingers need only the weight required to stop the string. More pressure doesn’t improve the note once it’s stopped — it just adds tension.

  • Aim for light fingers and a sense of the string’s elasticity
  • Use only the weight needed — never more
  • In double stops, the weight per string stays the same
Ask anything…
Grounded AI models

Strong models answer from Mia’s lessons, curated expert knowledge, or both.

No general-training filler
Made for music

Arco Intelligence

Arco understands the lesson itself: what was played, what was corrected, what was assigned, and what keeps coming back. It knows why a flutist returns to Moyse's long tones from De la Sonorité, how a pianist's pedaling can blur or clarify a line, and the difference between a Russian and Franco-Belgian bow hold.

Ask naturally, and Arco answers with your lesson history and carefully curated musical expertise.

Music-aware

Arco will correctly spell names, works, techniques, and instrument-specific terms.

Lesson-aware

Arco connects what was taught, corrected, assigned, and revisited across your plan's lesson history — plus the private notes you keep in Journal, so it understands you.

Expert-aware

When you want knowledge outside of your lessons, Arco brings in curated pedagogy sourced from the great teachers of history.

Lesson Notes

Not a play-by-play. Not meeting minutes. A document you can actually learn from.

View sample Lesson Notes
Ask Arco

Ask Arco: Ask about a year of progress. Ask about a technical problem. Ask what to practice next.

You asked:

What were Sarah's major wins and challenges in the past year of lessons?

Arco replied, From your lessons

Major wins

The lyrical lines in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto achieved a more fluent and vocal quality. At the Sept. 2, 2024 lesson, Sarah's opening already had a lovely basic color, but the first note often spoke a little late—the bow would start, then the phrase would bloom afterward. By the Aug. 19, 2025 lesson, she had learned to prepare the bow before the sound began, so the first note already carried direction.

Her articulation also became more speech‑like. By Sept. 26, 2025, slurs carried the vowel of the phrase while separate notes had just enough consonant at the front—cleaner, lighter, more elegant.

The cadenza gained real contrast, too. By the Mar. 24, 2026 lesson, Sarah had stopped treating it as one continuous paragraph, separating the grounded bass‑note gestures from the brilliant, suspended upper‑register answers.

You asked:

My vibrato sounds tight and mechanical. What can I do?

Arco replied, Drawing on expert knowledge

What “tight and mechanical” actually means

When players describe vibrato this way, it almost always boils down to a few things:

  • Too much gripping/pressure: Thumb and side of 1st finger clamp the neck. Finger presses too hard into the string, killing oscillation freedom.
  • Joints not really moving: The last joint of the finger is stiff instead of “jelly‑like.”
  • Motion driven by “shaking” big segments: Forearm/upper arm pumping while the finger/hand are locked.
  • One speed, one width, on every note: Same vibrato in Mozart, Brahms, loud, soft — it feels mechanical regardless of the basic motion.

Everything below attacks these specific causes...

What has my teacher said about improving my vibrato?How has my intonation progressed over the past year?Create a parent-friendly quarterly progress report for Sarah based on January through March.What practice strategies did my teacher recommend for Paganini Caprice No. 1?Create a practice plan for my audition repertoire.Create a 2-hour intonation workshop based on everything I've taught.What metaphors have I used to explain spiccato?Write a post on the 5 most common bow technique problems.What was John supposed to have prepared for today's lesson?How do different historical pedagogues approach sound production?What etudes can help me with shifting?Help me create a lesson plan for my student John.I have pain in my left hand, I think from being overly tense.How does my teacher's vibrato advice compare with Galamian and Flesch?Based on my progress and issues, which exercises should I focus on?What fingering did my teacher recommend for the Chopin Ballade?How can I improve my pedaling technique?What exercises has my teacher suggested for hand independence?Create a practice plan for my Beethoven sonata.What has my teacher said about my tone quality at the piano?How should I approach the voicing in this Bach fugue?What did my teacher say about my fingerpicking technique?How can I improve my barre chord transitions?What scales should I practice for jazz improvisation?How can I get a warmer, more even tone across the registers?What has my teacher said about my breathing and phrasing?What long-tone routine should I focus on right now?What did my teacher say about bow distribution in the Elgar?How can I make my shifts into thumb position cleaner?What has my teacher said about improving my vibrato?How has my intonation progressed over the past year?Create a parent-friendly quarterly progress report for Sarah based on January through March.What practice strategies did my teacher recommend for Paganini Caprice No. 1?Create a practice plan for my audition repertoire.Create a 2-hour intonation workshop based on everything I've taught.What metaphors have I used to explain spiccato?Write a post on the 5 most common bow technique problems.What was John supposed to have prepared for today's lesson?How do different historical pedagogues approach sound production?What etudes can help me with shifting?Help me create a lesson plan for my student John.I have pain in my left hand, I think from being overly tense.How does my teacher's vibrato advice compare with Galamian and Flesch?Based on my progress and issues, which exercises should I focus on?What fingering did my teacher recommend for the Chopin Ballade?How can I improve my pedaling technique?What exercises has my teacher suggested for hand independence?Create a practice plan for my Beethoven sonata.What has my teacher said about my tone quality at the piano?How should I approach the voicing in this Bach fugue?What did my teacher say about my fingerpicking technique?How can I improve my barre chord transitions?What scales should I practice for jazz improvisation?How can I get a warmer, more even tone across the registers?What has my teacher said about my breathing and phrasing?What long-tone routine should I focus on right now?What did my teacher say about bow distribution in the Elgar?How can I make my shifts into thumb position cleaner?
Guitar and piano students working with their teachers in a masterclass

For Teachers

  • Your students actually rememberEvery lesson becomes a permanent, searchable record. Your advice stays at their fingertips — exactly as you said it.
  • No more scribbling during lessonsArco records and creates Lesson Notes automatically. Your students stay fully present. The Lesson Notes are richer than any notes could be.
  • Walk in prepared, every timeOpen a student Space to see what they covered, what they were assigned, and where they left off. Preparation takes seconds.
  • Parents stay informedExport parent-friendly Lesson Notes, or generate a polished progress report covering any time window.
  • Your teaching archive grows with every lessonEvery session adds to a searchable record of your methodology. Turn months of teaching into workshops, articles, or lesson plans on demand.
  • Record live or import your archiveCapture new lessons on iPhone, iPad, or desktop web, or import existing audio and transcripts from Zoom, Voice Memos, typed notes, or any other source.

For Students

  • Review like your teacher is in the roomYour teacher's reasoning, metaphors, and step-by-step explanations.
  • Plan your practiceTurn your lesson history into a focused plan for what to practice next.
  • Hours of recordings, no time to listen?Lesson Notes capture what matters. Chat finds any moment. Get the benefit of every lesson without replaying every minute.
  • Ask the mastersCross-reference your teacher's approach with Galamian, Neuhaus, Tárrega, and others using Arco's built-in curated intelligence.
  • See how far you've comeLook back over months and years of progress. See what's working and where to focus next.

Institutions

For Schools & Conservatories

Bringing Arco to a department, a faculty, or a whole studio roster? Teachers, students, and parents organize into Spaces, progress reports export for your program, and we’ll help your team get started.

Talk to us

Goes to hello@arco.app. We usually reply within one business day.

From the App Store

Loved by musicians

5.0 on the App Store

HUGE time saver!

Before Arco, I used to spend more than three hours a week taking notes while reviewing my lesson's recording. Now I can just focus on listening, and then read Arco's summary of my lesson. And the summary it makes is always better than my own notes. Plus, the chat feature is more to the point than any Google search. Highly recommend it.

BorbotrincessApr 28

Indispensable app for music students

The brainchild of a respected pedagogue and musician, ArcoAI is the app I wish existed when I was a music student. The ability to revisit my teacher's notes, specific moments in a lesson, certain epiphanies—and go deeper even when I'm not in person with my teacher: all of this is a must-have for any serious music student or parent thereof. I can't recommend this more highly!

Fauxpas518Apr 15

the only ai app i use

this app is beautifully and thoughtfully made. the interface works great and the app allows me to get to the bytes of information i need much more easily and quickly!

I am epicalityJun 11

Sound familiar?

The metaphor that finally unlocked phrasing.
The advice that transformed your sound.
Explained perfectly—and then it's gone.

Scribbled notes never capture what happened.

By the next lesson, it's already forgotten.

Evenings lost to lesson notes and parent emails.

Hours of recordings no one replays.

The teaching—the part you're brilliant at—buried under admin.

Your own private intelligence

The intelligence you build in Arco is yours—encrypted, isolated by enterprise-grade architecture, and private to you. Your data is never sold to third parties or advertisers, and is never used to train outside AI models.

Read our privacy policy →

Every lesson makes your Arco smarter

Arco is more than notes: it becomes a private intelligence shaped by what you teach and learn. It understands instrument-specific terminology, technique, traditions, and language switches across violin, cello, piano, flute, guitar, voice, and more, so you can ask your lesson library anything in any language.

Piano teacher guiding a student's hands at a grand piano
A Letter from the Creator
Daniel Kurganov holding a violin in the Kurganov Masterclasses video series

Dear fellow musician,

I'm Daniel Kurganov—violinist, teacher, and creator of the YouTube masterclass series many of you have followed over the years. What started as an attempt to document my lessons has led to something I never anticipated: a tool that's become impossible to live without.

For years, I've watched profound moments disappear—both as a student and teacher. The detailed walkthrough for shaping phrases in Tchaikovsky Concerto—bow distribution, articulation, and nuances of rubato. The revelations in artistic phrasing and sound production. I collected notes, recorded myself, tried every system. Nothing worked the way I needed it to.

Arco is what I wish had existed.

When recent advances in AI made this kind of system possible, I knew something like this had to be built. Between rehearsals, lessons, and travel, I started building. Many lines of code later, Arco is the first tool of its kind—not just in music, but in education broadly.

Today I have over 1,000 lessons in Arco. It holds my detailed views on every topic—the hundred different ways I've explained sound production to different students—and it can draw on all of it: to prepare a lesson, shape an article, even outline a book about my own method. Every lesson I teach makes it sharper. That's what I want for you.

Daniel Kurganov's handwritten signatureDaniel KurganovViolinist & Teacher

The Team

Built by musicians and technologists

Daniel Kurganov

Daniel Kurganov

Co-founder, Engineering & Design

Internationally-acclaimed violinist, pedagogue, and AI expert. Recording artist and innovator in music education technology.

Alex Kurganov

Alex Kurganov

Co-founder, Engineering & Advisory

Technologist and inventor shaping how people connect through speech and AI. Holder of multiple U.S. and international patents.