Get the most out of Arco

Arco turns your music lessons into a searchable memory. Record or import a lesson and Arco gives you a clean transcript and practice-ready Lesson Notes, organizes everything into Spaces, and lets you ask questions across your whole lesson history. It's made for teachers, students, parents, and schools.

Arco runs on iPhone and iPad, and as a full web app at arco.app/start for desktop and tablet browsers. Everything syncs across your devices.

Not yet. Arco is on iPhone, iPad, and the web — and the web app works in a browser on Android too. A native Android app may come later.

Press record to capture a lesson — or import one you already have — and Arco turns it into a transcript and practice-ready Lesson Notes you can review. You don't even need a lesson to start: chat with Arco about technique, repertoire, and practice from day one, and once you add lessons it draws on your own history too.

Yes. Arco works across instruments, voices, and styles, and handles lessons in many languages. Its musical expertise is especially deep for violin, but it's not limited to violin — or to English.

Yes. Sign in on iPhone, iPad, and the web, and your lessons, audio, chats, and Spaces stay in sync — record on one device and review on another. If something looks out of date, pull to refresh or reload. An account is for one person, so sharing a login isn't supported.

On iPhone and iPad you can keep recording with no connection — the lesson saves on your device and uploads once you're back online. You can also review already-loaded lessons and chats offline. Processing, syncing, and sending new chat messages need internet.

Yes, on iPhone and iPad. Arco keeps recording in the background even if you switch to another app or lock your screen.

No. Record a lesson for as long as you need — there's no length limit.

Yes. Import audio from anywhere — Zoom, Voice Memos, or any recording app — and Arco creates a transcript and Lesson Notes just like a live lesson. Arco's own recording captures the audio around you, so it's ideal for in-person lessons; for an online lesson over Zoom or FaceTime, record the call in your video app and import that file.

Common audio files work — m4a, mp3, wav, and more — up to 100 MB each. On the web you can also drag and drop them in.

Yes. You can bring in many audio files at once and set a date and Space for each one.

Yes. Paste in or upload a transcript and Arco will create Lesson Notes like any other lesson — great for turning written notes into something searchable.

Yes. Pick the instrument when you record so Lesson Notes use the right musical context, or set a default in Settings.

Yes. The audio is ready to play as soon as you save, even while the transcript and Lesson Notes are still being generated.

It runs in the background and usually finishes within a few minutes; longer lessons take a little longer. You can close the app and come back — it updates on its own when it's done.

Very. Arco's transcription is built for music lessons, so instrument terms, pieces, and techniques come through clearly. You can always tweak Lesson Notes if you want to refine them.

Yes. It's built for real lessons, where a teacher and student talk back and forth, and it handles normal room sound well.

Yes. Open the lesson, edit the Lesson Notes, and save — your changes sync across your devices.

Alongside the main Lesson Notes, Arco can make a short recap, a student-friendly youth version, and a parent-facing version — handy for sharing the right level of detail.

Yes. From the lesson you can reprocess to regenerate the transcript and Lesson Notes; a reprocess uses 1 credit, like the first time. If a lesson genuinely failed or looks wrong, email hello@arco.app and we'll make it right.

A Space is a shared lesson notebook — for a teacher and student, a family, an ensemble, or a whole studio. It keeps related lessons and people together, and it's how you share lessons in Arco.

Open a Space, create an invite link, and send it to whoever you want to add. Each link works once and expires after 30 days, so just make a fresh one if it goes unused. When they accept, the lessons in that Space start showing up in their Arco.

Not right away. A Space keeps your lessons organized even before anyone joins, and the invite link helps the other person get set up. Once they're in, they start receiving the lessons you put in that Space.

They get the lesson right in their own Arco — the Lesson Notes, the transcript, and the audio — so they can read it, listen back, and chat with it like any of their lessons. New lessons you add to the Space show up for them automatically, so a student or parent can follow progress over time without managing your library.

When you add someone, you mark them as a Teacher or a Student. A Space can include several people — an ensemble, a family, or a studio — and you stay in control as the person who set it up.

A few ways: record or import straight into a Space, or add an existing lesson to one anytime. You can also move a lesson from one Space to another whenever you reorganize.

Yes. A lesson lives in your library and can go in a Space, and you can move it between Spaces anytime. Taking it out of a Space doesn't delete it from your library.

No. Removing a lesson from a Space just takes it out of that notebook — it stays in your library. Deleting a lesson is a separate, deliberate action.

No. When you share through a Space, the other person gets their own copy — they can't change or delete anything in your library. You're always in control of your originals.

Once a lesson has been shared, the other person has their own copy, so later edits to your version don't change theirs. To give them the update, just share the lesson again or send them a PDF.

Once you've joined a Space, new lessons your teacher adds show up in your library automatically, and you'll get a notification. If something hasn't appeared yet, pull to refresh.

You can leave or archive a Space anytime, and choose whether to also remove its lessons from your own library. Lessons already shared to other people stay with them.

Anything about music — technique, repertoire, interpretation, practice — or about your own lessons, like what you worked on last week or how a piece has progressed. Arco draws on expert musical knowledge and your own lesson history as needed.

Deep Dive turns on deeper reasoning for complex, multi-step questions. It costs 1 credit per response; regular chat is free.

Yes. Just ask naturally — like "what have I worked on with Sarah over the last three months?" Arco can focus on one lesson, one student, or your whole library.

Yes. Your chats are grouped by date, and you can search, rename, or delete any of them.

Lesson plans help you prep for the next session. Open a Space and tap Lesson Plan, and Arco looks across that student's recent lessons to suggest what to focus on next — what to review, what to push forward, and ideas to work on.

Pick a date range — last 30 days, 3, 6, or 12 months, or all time — and Arco turns that student's lessons into a progress report you can save and share as a PDF.

Yes. From a lesson you can export a PDF (or Markdown on the web), or copy the Lesson Notes or transcript to your clipboard.

Yes. On both the iOS and web apps you can select multiple lessons and download them together as PDFs or Markdown files.

Yes. On the web you can save an Arco response as a PDF, with the option to include your question.

Processing a lesson uses 1 credit — that covers both the transcript and the Lesson Notes — and each Deep Dive response uses 1 credit. Everything else — regular chat, Spaces, search, lesson plans, progress reports, exports, and reviewing past lessons — is free.

Every plan includes the full Arco workflow — recording, importing, transcripts, Lesson Notes, search, Spaces, and unlimited chat. The differences are simple: how many monthly credits you get (Free 2, Starter 8, Pro 30, Studio 80), Google Drive backup on Pro, Studio, and Founding Lifetime, and a cap of 5 received shared lessons on the Free plan. Founding Lifetime is a one-time plan with 1,200 credits that never expire.

Yes. Upgrade anytime for more credits right away, or downgrade and keep your current plan until it renews. Your lessons, audio, Lesson Notes, Spaces, and chats are always safe, whatever plan you're on.

Monthly plan credits reset each cycle and don't roll over. Top-up credits are different — they don't expire while your account is active and stack on top of your plan credits.

Yes. One-time top-ups add 5 or 15 credits without changing your plan, and they don't expire. Top-ups need a paid plan, so on Free you'd upgrade first.

Arco warns you as you get low, so it's never a surprise. Even at zero you can still chat, browse and search your library, manage Spaces, and export lessons. Processing new lessons and Deep Dive come back when your credits renew, you upgrade, or you buy a top-up.

Yes. Your plan and credits are tied to your account, so they work on iPhone, iPad, and the web no matter where you bought them.

Founding Lifetime is a one-time purchase with 1,200 credits that never expire, unlimited chat, and Google Drive backup — no recurring renewal.

You can subscribe either way, on any device. Subscribing directly through Arco is the lower-priced option; subscribing through Apple goes through your App Store account. Either way you get the same plan and credits everywhere — pick whichever you prefer.

If you subscribed through Apple, manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. If you subscribed directly through Arco, manage it in Settings. You can change or cancel anytime.

On iPhone or iPad, tap Restore Purchases on the paywall to re-sync with Apple. If it still doesn't show, email hello@arco.app and we'll sort it out.

For purchases through Apple, refunds are handled by Apple under their App Store policies. For purchases through Arco, email hello@arco.app within 7 days and we'll help with unused subscription time.

Promo codes apply to eligible monthly subscriptions at checkout. They don't apply to top-ups or to annual or lifetime plans.

Yes. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with strict access controls and regular security reviews to keep your lessons protected.

Only you, unless you choose to share. Your lessons are private to your account — no one else can see them unless you add them to a Space with someone or export them yourself.

No. Arco doesn't use your recordings, transcripts, Lesson Notes, or chats to train its own AI models, and we don't allow our AI providers to use your lesson content to train their general models either. They only process what's needed to do the work you ask for.

Never. We don't sell your information or share it for advertising. Your data is only used to run Arco's features for you.

Your lessons are stored securely in the cloud (on servers in the United States), and on iPhone and iPad a copy lives on your device too. If you turn on Google Drive backup, copies also go to your own Drive.

Yes. You own your recordings, transcripts, Lesson Notes, and notes. Arco only stores and processes them to provide the service, and you can export or delete them anytime.

Files already saved to your Google Drive stay in your Google account — they're yours. If you move to a plan without Drive backup, new automatic backups stop, but nothing already saved is affected.

You can delete your account anytime in Settings → Account → Delete Account. We lock it right away and remove your Arco data, with cleanup finishing in the background. Files already in your own Google Drive stay there, and we keep only minimal records the law requires.

It depends where you subscribed. A subscription bought directly through Arco is canceled when your account is deleted; an Apple subscription must be canceled separately in your App Store settings. It's worth exporting anything you want to keep first.

Yes. You're responsible for getting consent from anyone you record, and many places legally require it. For young students, that usually means a parent or guardian's OK first.

Web recording needs microphone access. Make sure your browser has allowed the mic for arco.app — if you blocked it before, re-enable it in your browser's site settings, then reload and try again.

A few minutes is normal, and longer lessons take longer. If one seems stuck, open it and tap Reprocess if that's offered. If it still won't finish, email us the lesson title, the device, and your account email.

Nothing's lost — the other device just needs to catch up. Pull to refresh, then fully close and reopen the app (or reload the page on web). If it's still missing, contact support and tell us which device looks right and which looks wrong.

Give a brand-new recording a moment to finish uploading. On the web, reload the page. If audio still won't play, email us the lesson title and the device you're on.

Invite links work once and expire after 30 days, so an old or used link won't open. Just open the Space and make a fresh one.

Free accounts can receive up to 5 shared lessons; past that, new ones show as unavailable until you upgrade. If you've already upgraded and they're still locked, refresh and then contact support.

First refresh, since deliveries take a moment. If you're the recipient, double-check you used the right invite link. If you're the owner, make sure the lesson is actually in that Space and wasn't removed. Still wrong? Email us the Space name, lesson title, and your account email.

Your account email, whether you're on iPhone, iPad, or web, what you expected, and what actually happened. A screenshot or short screen recording helps a lot.

Email hello@arco.app, or reach support from the app's Settings or at arco.app/support. We read every message and reply as quickly as we can.

Yes. If you're setting up Arco for a studio, school, or teaching team, email hello@arco.app and we'll help. Arco supports multiple teachers, students, and parents through Spaces, with exportable progress reports.