Sheet Music to MIDI
Turn PDF, MusicXML, and scanned scores into MIDI
Printed sheets, scanned PDFs, MusicXML, and even phone photos all flow through PureMIDI's OMR engine to produce MIDI files. Use them for practice playback, arrangement starters, teaching, or long-term digital archiving of your music library.
Sheet Music to MIDI is on the way
Try our Audio to MIDI tool while we ship this. If you already have MIDI and want MusicXML, MuseScore or Sibelius will export it.
How the workflow will work
- 01
Upload your score
PDFs, MusicXML / MXL files, and high-resolution score images all work.
- 02
AI recognizes notation
OMR reads pitch, rhythm, dynamics, time signatures, and key signatures.
- 03
Download MIDI or MusicXML
Export MIDI for DAWs or MusicXML for notation software like MuseScore, Sibelius, and Dorico.
Use cases
Practice playback
Scan paper studies, convert to MIDI, and slow-play along while you practice.
Arranging
Use existing scores as the seed of new arrangements — swap sounds, transpose, reorchestrate.
Teaching
Teachers convert homework scores to MIDI as a reference recording for grading.
Digital archiving
Preserve old or out-of-print scores in a format you can play and share forever.
OMR accuracy notes
- Higher resolution scans (300+ dpi) give the cleanest results.
- Dense polyphony, jazz charts, and elaborate ornaments will need a quick proofread in notation software.
- Skewed pages and shadows lower accuracy — use a scanning app to straighten the image first.
- Piano scores, choral parts, and solo studies with clean engraving convert most reliably.
Supported sheet music input types
Sheet Music to MIDI accepts three input families. Each follows a different recognition path.
| Input type | Example | Recognition path | Suggested resolution / spec |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engraved PDF (notation export) | MuseScore / Sibelius / Dorico export | Direct semantic extraction — highest accuracy | Resolution doesn't matter |
| Scanned PDF (image-wrapped) | Library scans, Google Books | OCR + OMR pipeline | Source ≥300 dpi |
| Photo PNG/JPG | Phone snap of paper sheet | Deskew + enhance + OMR | ≥1500×2000 px, even lighting |
| MusicXML / MXL | Notation-software interchange | Parsed directly to MIDI | Structured data, no recognition needed |
| Handwritten scans | Workbook photocopies | Experimental OMR | Limited accuracy today — re-engrave first |
Workflow recommendations by role
Different users adopt sheet-music-to-MIDI very differently. Pick the workflow that fits you.
- Piano student: phone-snap your étude → PureMIDI → play it back at half speed in Synthesia or GarageBand.
- Band / choir: scan the full score PDF → convert to MIDI → assign voices in your DAW → email the parts to members for home practice.
- Music teacher: convert the assigned score to MIDI → post to Edmodo or Google Classroom as the reference recording.
- Digital archivist: bulk-scan an old library, batch-convert to MIDI + MusicXML, and back up to Dropbox or iCloud Drive.
- Composer: convert a sketch PDF to MIDI → re-orchestrate in Logic instead of re-entering the notation by hand.
Difference vs the PDF to MIDI page
PDF to MIDI is dedicated to PDF input. Sheet Music to MIDI is the broader entry point covering PDFs, photos, and MusicXML. If your input is only PDF, the resulting MIDI file is identical — but the docs on this page are organized around every sheet-music form factor.
Sheet Music to MIDI FAQ
Is this the same as PDF to MIDI?+
Same OMR engine under the hood. Sheet Music to MIDI accepts PDFs, MusicXML, and images; PDF to MIDI focuses purely on PDF input.
Can I upload phone photos of sheet music?+
Yes — bright, straight, in-focus shots work best. Skewed or blurry images will lower accuracy.
Does it support MusicXML?+
Yes. At launch you can import and export MusicXML / MXL alongside MIDI for round-tripping with MuseScore, Sibelius, and Dorico.
What can I use right now?+
Audio to MIDI is live. MuseScore also offers a basic OMR feature you can use as a stopgap.
Will numbered notation (jianpu) work?+
Standard staff notation comes first. Numbered notation (jianpu) is on the second-phase roadmap.
Will it preserve sections in multi-page PDFs?+
Yes. The OMR stitches measures end-to-end while keeping rehearsal marks and section labels.
Will it cost anything?+
Free users get daily conversions. Paid plans add longer scores, batch upload, and priority queue.
Can I turn the resulting MIDI back into sheet music?+
Yes. Import the MIDI into MuseScore or Sibelius to regenerate an editable score.
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