Does the MIDI work in GarageBand, Logic and Ableton?

Yes — it is a standard MIDI file. Drag it into any DAW or notation app. The two hands arrive on separate tracks so you can assign different instruments or edit them apart.

Is the MIDI quantized to a grid?

No. The note events keep the timing of your performance, which is what you usually want in a DAW. The engraved PDF and MusicXML apply the metered, readable interpretation.

Does it capture the sustain pedal?

No — the MIDI contains notes only, no CC64 pedal events. Where you pedalled, check note lengths, and add sustain automation in your DAW if the part needs it.

Will it work on a full mix or a song with vocals?

It is designed for solo piano. Other instruments share the piano’s frequencies and come out as wrong notes. Isolate the piano first, or transcribe mixed material by ear.

Audio in · MIDI out

Piano audio to MIDI.

Play the idea at the piano, record it on anything, and get a MIDI file you can drop straight into GarageBand, Logic, Ableton or FL Studio — no MIDI keyboard or cable required.

Transcribe a recording

The first 30 seconds of every recording are free, in your browser, with no account.

How it works

Record the piano part

Any MP3, WAV or M4A of solo piano, up to 25 MB and 10 minutes. A phone recording of an acoustic piano works.

Preview 30 seconds free

The notes are detected and shown in your browser before you pay — check that the take is clean enough.

Download the MIDI

Every note with its timing and velocity, the two hands on separate tracks, ready for your DAW. PDF and MusicXML come with it.

What the MIDI file contains

You get a standard MIDI file that any DAW or notation app can open: every detected note with its start, duration and velocity, with the right and left hands on separate tracks so you can mute, reassign or re-voice them independently.

Two honest gaps: the file carries no sustain-pedal data (no CC64 — the transcriber works only from what it hears), and it follows one tempo and one time signature for the whole piece. If your playing breathes with rubato, the MIDI keeps the performance timing in the note events rather than a tempo map. What a MIDI file actually stores explains the format, and the pedal question covers workarounds.

Audio to MIDI vs recording MIDI directly

If your digital piano has a USB or MIDI output, recording MIDI directly will always be cleaner — there is no room noise to decode. Audio-to-MIDI earns its place when the recording already exists: a voice memo of an acoustic piano, a take from a session, an idea captured before the DAW was open.

Converting audio is detection, not capture, so dense pedalled passages and fast ornaments may need a pass in the piano roll. Recording MIDI straight from a digital piano covers the cleaner path when you have the option.

Honest limits

Where you will still proofread.

Automatic transcription is a first draft, not a finished score. The free 30-second preview exists so you can see exactly that on your own recording before paying anything.

Solo piano only

This is a piano transcriber. Drum loops, vocals or a full mix will not separate out — expect wrong notes.

No pedal data

No CC64 sustain events are written. If your sound relies on pedalled sustain, add it in the DAW.

Timing is as played

The MIDI is not quantized to a grid. That preserves your feel; for notation, the PDF and MusicXML apply the musical reading.

Dense chords can mask notes

Inner voices inside thick chords are the likeliest notes to be missed or added. Check them in the piano roll.

Echo becomes extra notes

Room reverb can register as short extra notes. A closer, drier recording gives a cleaner MIDI.

Velocity is estimated

Dynamics are inferred from the audio. Treat the velocity lane as a draft of what you played.

Every purchase includes the MusicXML file, so a wrong note is a few seconds' work in MuseScore, Sibelius or Dorico — not a reason to start again.

Pricing

The first 30 seconds of every recording are free.

One piece

$4.99

One full-length recording, transcribed. PDF, MIDI and MusicXML are yours to keep.

Transcribe a recording

Unlimited

$9.99per month

Every recording you upload, in every format. Cancel whenever you like.

Start transcribing

Questions, answered

Upload the MP3, WAV or M4A to the transcriber. The first 30 seconds convert free in your browser; if it looks right, the full MIDI — plus a PDF score and MusicXML — is $4.99, or unlimited for $9.99 a month.

Go deeper

Explainers

What Is a MIDI File? A Pianist's and Producer's Guide

What is a MIDI file? Learn what .mid files contain, how they differ from audio and sheet music, and how pianists and music producers use MIDI in practice.

8 min read

Comparisons