Seven moments, side by side
The guide
Status. Adopted from the Brand Central draft (September 30, 2026). Open decisions are listed at the end. Source:
guidelines/voice.md.Voice (never changes)
Warm, patient, and always explains why. Sounds like the best private teacher you ever had.
| Brand word | Sounds like | Never |
|---|---|---|
| Friendly → warm | Greets by name, notices effort | Gushing, praising everything the same |
| Approachable → patient | Grade 4 to 5 words; defines a term the first time | Babyish, or talking down to adults |
| Trustworthy → honest | Says exactly what Arpezia measures and keeps | “Don’t worry about it” |
| Knowledgeable → explains why | One short line of why, next to the thing | A lecture, or jargon without a reason |
Always true
- Grade 4 to 5 reading level anywhere a child might read; up to grade 8 on parent, teacher and school pages.
- Errors help, never blame: what happened, likely reason, what to do next. No apology filler.
- Honest numbers, rounded at the screen: “23 minutes,” never “23.4.”
- Celebrate what is real, named specifically. No points-for-nothing currency, no “crush it,” no fire emoji.
- Privacy in plain words whenever the mic comes up: what is measured, what is kept.
- No guilt, no pressure. Reminders inform, never threaten. Coming back is always easy.
- Claims are earned: “built on” / “designed around,” never “proven” / “guaranteed.”
- Talk to the right person: consent to the adult, Studio to the teacher, Practice to the player.
- One word per thing: Routine, Exercise, Lesson, Song, Plan, Goal. Same word in nav, headings, buttons.
- Built to translate: whole sentences, no stitched fragments, no idioms in core UI, room for 30% longer text.
- Written to the style guide: Oxford comma, no em or en dashes, sentence case, curly quotes, American English, buttons start with a verb, the name is always Arpezia. Full rules in
style.md.
House rules (Teacher)
- Person. “You” for the player. “We” means Arpezia and only when Arpezia is doing something. Prefer “Arpezia” by name in privacy and billing.
- Exclamation marks. At most one per screen, only for a real achievement. None in errors, billing, privacy, consent.
- Humor. Gentle and rare. Never in errors, billing, or privacy.
- Sentences. Under 15 words where possible. One idea each.
- Emoji. None in the app or on the website. Social: open question 3 (draft says one music emoji per post when it adds meaning).
- Use: your sound · practice · nice work (after real effort) · let’s (to start together) · set list (from B, when it teaches) · exact numbers (from C).
- Avoid: “Great job!” on everything · Oops · user, session data · just, simply · awesome, amazing · passive voice for actions · engineering words (chain response, stack trace, skeleton).
Tone by channel
| Channel | Job | Energy | Lean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social | Stop the scroll with a Why | Highest | B: short, upbeat, one exclamation, links to proof |
| Celebrations | Mark real progress | High | B: name the skill and the number |
| Website | Why, then How, then What | Medium | A, Golden Circle order, never salesy |
| Email and notifications | Bring people back, one ask | Medium-low | A: personal, brief, no pressure |
| App | Help them practice right now | Home register | A: patient, one line of why |
| Help center | Fix it fast | Low | C: steps, not stories |
| Proof mode | Show the evidence | Lowest | C: finding, who was studied, source, how Arpezia applies it |
Golden Circle (pending approval, open question 1)
- Why. Music grows one note at a time. Every player, at every age, deserves to hear themselves getting better.
- How. A century of trusted method books becomes a clear daily plan. Arpezia listens as you play. Your progress becomes something you can see and hear. Three pillars: a plan · a coach that listens · progress you can see.
- What. A practice coach for brass players, with woodwinds next. Daily plans, a library of classic studies, progress tracking, and four tools: the Tuner, Metronome, Tone Generator, and Tone Meter. In any browser.
Celebrations
- Nod (every session): a quiet line, no animation. “Practice done: 23 minutes, every step finished.”
- Cheer (milestones): one exclamation, names skill and number. “14 days in a row! Practicing a little every day is how real progress happens.”
- Moment (rare, big): full-screen + share card, still specific. Badges are musical skills: “Long-Tone Keeper,” “First High C.”
- Never: threaten loss, invent a currency, show the bottom of a leaderboard, stack celebrations.
- Leaderboards for under-13s: open question 4.
Proof mode ladder
- Belief (“We believe”) needs no evidence; lives only in the Why.
- Design (“built on,” “designed around”) cites the principle.
- Function (“Arpezia measures”) must be true today and checkable.
- Outcome (“players improve”) only with Arpezia’s own data. Not available yet, so not used.
Cite as: finding in plain words → who was studied → source (authors, year) → how Arpezia applies it. A music educator reviews before publishing (open question 2).
Patterns
| Pattern | Shape | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Empty state | What it is, why empty, how to start | You haven’t made a routine yet. A routine is a practice list you can run again and again. Build your own, or start with one below. |
| Error | What happened, likely reason, one fix | We couldn’t open your library. Another Arpezia tab might be using it. Close other tabs, then reload. |
| Mic permission | What is measured, what is kept, then the ask | Arpezia listens while you play so it can help you. We measure your pitch and tone. We don’t keep a recording unless you save one. Allow the microphone to start. |
| Reminder | Fact, small ask, why it counts | You’ve practiced 13 days in a row. Five minutes today keeps it going. Even one long tone counts. |
| Return after absence | Welcome, gentle restart | Welcome back, Maya. Let’s start gently with a short 10-minute plan. |
| Money | What stays free first, then the offer | Your free trial is over. The Tuner, Metronome, Tone Generator, and Tone Meter stay free. To keep your plans and progress, choose Arpezia Plus. |
| Destructive dialog | Name the object, answer the real worry | Delete “Morning warm-up”? This removes the routine from your library. Your practice history stays. · Delete routine / Keep it |
| Step hint | One line of why | Long tones · Wakes up your sound before harder work. |
| Trial banner | Deadline as a day, not a countdown | 3 days left in your free trial. Everything is unlocked until Friday. |
Vocabulary
The style guide’s word list is the authority. Highlights: player (never user) · teacher (not instructor) · parent or guardian · free trial (not free week) · sign in (not log in) · The Musicians' Room (not Conservatory) · choose, start, open (not click, tap, select) · the four free tools in this order: Tuner, Metronome, Tone Generator, and Tone Meter · Tone Meter is the tool, tone map is its chart · routine, exercise, lesson, song, plan, goal (lowercase) · badge, streak, challenge (never achievement, points, XP) · outline (never skeleton) · practice (session only for a timed run) · reference player, “modeled from recordings.”
Open questions (from the draft)
- Approve the Why.
- Who signs off on teaching claims.
- Emoji on social.
- Leaderboards under 13.
Resolving these changes: hero copy on the website, the social templates, and challenge copy in Studio.