How to Convert MIDI Files into Sheet Music

If you’ve ever had trouble finding sheet music to a particular song or theme, MIDI files can be your best friend. MIDI files are files that are very small in size, and play essentially like a a real instrument. They play note by note, and because of this, a computer is able to decipher the MIDI file into actual musical notes.

If you have a MIDI file of a particular song or theme that you would like to have translated into sheet music, there are a few ways to go about this.

8notes.com: http://www.8notes.com/midi_sheet_music/

8Notes has a feature that instantly converts MIDI files into sheet music that you can view in your browser. It has both a free version and a subscription version. The free version only allows you to convert one MIDI a day. Convinient if you suddenly find a MIDI you have to have, but if you need to convert many, you will have to signup for the subscription service.

The converting process is fast and smooth, and the sheet music is large and easy to print. From the ones I have converted, the music seems clean and accurate. I would use this service again in the future.

Noteworthy Composer

This is a piece of software that is amazing. It allows you to do many things, but the aspect I’ll look at he is it’s ability to convert MIDI files into sheet music. This program is available for a free demo download, but must be purchased eventually. It is a cheap price, and well worth the money.

Noteworthy allows you to choose various options for the rendering of your MIDI, something 8notes.com doesn’t allow. Another feature I really like is the ability to place a real-time MIDI of the sheet music it renders. So, after converting to sheet music, you can click the play button and watch the notes light up as it plays them. This allows you to quickly check the quality of the render and decide if it is accurate or not.

MidiIllustrator – http://www.midiillustrator.com/

This program is considered one of the two best MIDI converters available. It has many more features than Noteworthy, but is also more expensive, which will turn some people away. It is always accurate to the MIDI, it renders beautifully formatted sheet music, and allows many changes and improvisions to the rendered music. If you are willing to spend any price, this program is one worth considering.

Pros

Using MIDI files to obtain sheet music has many pros, the best of which is cost. MIDI files can be found in every corner of the Internet for free, and you can download as many as you like. MIDI files are very small in size (mere kilobytes) and thus you can download hundreds while only using a few megabytes of hard drive space. Using MIDI files to obtain music is a very cheap way to go because there are many free ways to get sheet music from a MIDI.

Another advantage is always having the MIDI files around. If you lose you copy of the sheet music, then you can simply re-convert it and print a new one. Also, you can save a digital copy of the sheet music onto your computer, something that is not possible with a music book.

Finally, using a MIDI to obtain sheet music allows you to have both a visible and audible version of the song. Being able to hear the speed and rhythm of the song is very convinient, and allows you to assure that you have proper timing for the song.

Cons

There are, unfortunately, cons when using MIDIs to obtain sheet music, and for some people they are too great.

Sheet music obtained from MIDIs is not always accurate. If the MIDI is slightly off, it may not be noticeable when played on your computer, but it will be when played on an instrument.

If there are many instruments playing on the MIDI you convert, then the sheet music may be off, or even unable to render. This is rare though, as I have rendered fairly complex MIDI’s, and received perfectly rendered sheet music.

There is not enough information available in a MIDI to give a complete-info sheet music. You will be provided with complete notes, but you will not be given info like counts (4/4, etc). However, since you have the MIDI file to listen to, it will be simple to figure the sheet music out.

In all, the ability to turn a MIDI file into sheet music is wonderful. I have obtained various pieces of sheet music ranging from the Mario Brothers theme to the elvish song in the Lord of the Rings. If you have a MIDI of something odd or rare and would like to play it, this method is cheap, fast, and simple.