Want to take a piano recording and turn it into something you can edit in a DAW, print as sheet music, or learn note by note? Converting audio to MIDI is the answer — and you can do it for free in your browser without uploading a single file.

This guide covers what MIDI is, why it's useful, and exactly how to convert piano audio to MIDI using Pianolyze.

What is MIDI, and why convert audio to it?

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a format that stores note information — which notes were played, when, how hard, and for how long — rather than the audio waveform itself. Think of it as the difference between a recording of someone playing piano and the sheet music for that piece.

Converting audio to MIDI gives you:

• Editability — change individual notes, fix mistakes, transpose to a different key
• Sheet music — import into MuseScore, Sibelius, or Finale to generate printable notation
• DAW compatibility — use the notes to trigger any virtual instrument in Logic, Ableton, GarageBand, or FL Studio
• Learning aid — see exactly which notes are played and in what order
• Small file size — a 3-minute piece might be 10KB as MIDI versus 30MB as WAV

What audio formats can be converted?

Pianolyze supports the most common lossless and lossy audio formats:

How to convert piano audio to MIDI online

1. Go to Pianolyze — no account or sign-up needed to try the sample tracks.
2. Drag your audio file onto the drop zone, or click Browse Files to pick a file from your computer.
3. Wait for the transcription — the AI processes your audio locally. For a 3-minute recording, expect 30–90 seconds depending on your hardware.
4. Review the piano roll — you'll see all detected notes plotted on the roll. Use the zoom controls to inspect individual sections.
5. Click Export MIDI — download a standard MIDI file you can open anywhere.

Privacy note: Your audio file never leaves your device. Pianolyze runs the AI model in your browser using WebAssembly (ONNX Runtime), so all processing is local. This is important if you're working with unpublished recordings or material you'd rather not upload to a third-party server.

What can you do with the MIDI file?

Print sheet music

Import the MIDI into MuseScore (free) to generate sheet music. You can then export to PDF and print. Sibelius and Finale offer more advanced engraving if you need professional-quality output.

Edit in a DAW

Open the MIDI in Logic Pro, Ableton Live, GarageBand, FL Studio, or any other DAW. Assign it to a piano VST instrument, or use it to trigger any sound you want. You can quantize notes, adjust velocities, or fix wrong notes.

Transpose and rearrange

Need the piece in a different key? MIDI makes transposition trivial — just select all notes in your DAW and shift them up or down by semitones. You can also split the left and right hand parts into separate MIDI tracks for cleaner notation.

Learn and practice

Many learners import MIDI into piano learning apps like Synthesia or PianoVision to get note-by-note visual guidance. The falling note display makes it easy to see what to play and when, even if you can't read standard notation.

Limitations to be aware of

Audio-to-MIDI conversion via AI transcription is impressive, but it's not perfect. Expect the best results when:

• The recording is solo piano (no other instruments)
• The audio is clean and not heavily reverb-processed
• Dynamics are relatively consistent
• The recording isn't excessively fast or polyphonic

Complex passages — fast octave runs, heavily pedaled romantic repertoire, or very quiet notes — may have missed or extra notes. Treat the MIDI output as an excellent first draft that you can refine rather than a perfect transcription.