What the MIDI file holds

Every note the machine heard, with when it started, how long it lasted and how hard the key was struck. It follows the performance exactly, including the player speeding up and slowing down, so it sounds like the recording when you play it back.

The sheet music is different on purpose. To make a score you can read, notes are lined up on the beat and tidied. The MIDI keeps the original feel; the score keeps it readable. You get both.

What to do with it

  • Load it into a piano learning app that shows falling notes.
  • Slow it down in GarageBand, Logic, Ableton or any audio workstation, and loop the hard bars.
  • Play it back through a better piano sound than the original recording had.
  • Import it into notation software if you want to engrave it your own way.

MIDI or MusicXML?

If you want to edit the sheet music, use MusicXML: it keeps the key signature, bar lines and which hand plays what. MIDI is the better choice for playback and practice apps. MusicXML, MIDI or PDF explains the difference in full.

Works best with solo piano

The model behind it was trained on piano. Other instruments and voices come out as stray piano notes, so give it a recording of the piano alone.