Yes. Transkun is open source and free to run yourself if you're comfortable with Python. Pianolyze, which runs the same model in your browser, is free to try with sample tracks; transcribing your own recordings requires a Pro subscription with a free trial.

What's the difference between Transkun and Pianolyze?

Transkun is a transformer model trained to convert piano audio into note data. Pianolyze runs that model in a browser and adds a piano roll, sheet music view, MIDI export, and drag-and-drop interface. They use the same transcription engine but require different amounts of setup.

Do I need a GPU to run Transkun?

A GPU speeds up transcription but is not required. The model runs more slowly on a CPU. Pianolyze runs it directly in your browser and is tuned for typical laptop hardware without a dedicated GPU.

How accurate is Transkun?

For solo piano, transformer-based models like Transkun benchmark well on standard datasets such as MAESTRO, and the output is generally usable for learning or as a notation first draft. Accuracy drops on fast, heavily pedaled passages and on recordings where piano isn't the dominant instrument.

Explainer

What Is Transkun? The AI Model Behind Pianolyze

Jul 20, 2026 · 5 min read

You may have seen Transkun named as the model behind a piano transcription tool or found its GitHub repository. It is the open-source model that powers Pianolyze's transcription.

What Transkun is

Transkun is an open-source transformer model for piano transcription. It converts a piano recording into structured note data: which keys were pressed, when, and for how long. Built as a research project, it focuses on solo piano audio and produces MIDI-equivalent note events.

It is not a consumer app. There's no drag-and-drop interface, no piano roll, no sheet music view, and no export button. It's a model and a command-line interface, meant to be run or scripted by someone comfortable with Python.

Pianolyze packages Transkun as a browser tool with a piano roll, sheet music view, and MIDI export, so you do not need to set up the model yourself.

How it works, briefly

Transkun uses a transformer architecture trained on paired audio-and-note datasets such as MAESTRO. That dataset contains piano performances recorded on a Disklavier, which captures exact note timing alongside the audio. Given a new recording, the model predicts the sequence of notes most likely to have produced it.

The result is strongest on solo or near-solo piano. Like every transcription model, accuracy drops on fast, heavily pedaled passages, and drops sharply on recordings where piano is one instrument among several.

Running Transkun yourself

If you're a developer or researcher, running Transkun directly gives you full control:

Set up a Python environment and install the dependencies
Download the model checkpoint
Run the CLI against your audio files
Get raw note-event output you can script into a larger pipeline

Run Transkun directly if you are batch-processing an archive, doing research, or integrating transcription into another tool. If you only want to see the notes in a song, the setup and nonvisual output add unnecessary work.

Running Transkun through Pianolyze

Pianolyze runs the same model, but as a browser app:

	Raw Transkun	Pianolyze
Setup	Python environment, checkpoint download	Open a browser tab
Interface	Command line, raw output	Piano roll, sheet music view, MIDI export
Runs where	Your machine, via Python	Your browser, on-device
Audio upload	N/A (local)	None; processed on-device
Cost	Free (open source)	Free samples; Pro subscription for your own files
Best for	Developers, batch jobs, research	Learning, practicing, one-off transcriptions

The better option depends on the task. Use Transkun directly to script batch jobs over hundreds of recordings. Use Pianolyze to transcribe a single recording and view the notes without working in a terminal.

For other options, see our comparisons of AnthemScore alternatives and the best AI music transcription tools.

Try Transkun without installing anything

Pianolyze runs the same model in your browser. Try free sample tracks or use a Pro trial for your own recordings. Nothing is uploaded or installed.

Open Pianolyze

Frequently asked questions

Is Transkun free?: Yes. Transkun is open source and free to run yourself if you're comfortable with Python. Pianolyze, which runs the same model in your browser, is free to try with sample tracks; transcribing your own recordings requires a Pro subscription with a free trial.
What's the difference between Transkun and Pianolyze?: Transkun is a transformer model trained to convert piano audio into note data. Pianolyze runs that model in a browser and adds a piano roll, sheet music view, MIDI export, and drag-and-drop interface. They use the same transcription engine but require different amounts of setup.
Do I need a GPU to run Transkun?: A GPU speeds up transcription but is not required. The model runs more slowly on a CPU. Pianolyze runs it directly in your browser and is tuned for typical laptop hardware without a dedicated GPU.
How accurate is Transkun?: For solo piano, transformer-based models like Transkun benchmark well on standard datasets such as MAESTRO, and the output is generally usable for learning or as a notation first draft. Accuracy drops on fast, heavily pedaled passages and on recordings where piano isn't the dominant instrument.