Two ways in
Upload a video file
MP4, MOV and WebM all work, so a video straight from an iPhone or Android phone is fine. Files can be up to 200 MB and 20 minutes of playing. Only the sound is used; nobody looks at the picture.
Paste a link
Paste the address of a video and we fetch the sound. You confirm that you have the right to use the recording: your own playing, a recording you were given, or one that is licensed for it. Video sites have their own rules about downloading and some block it outright. If a link cannot be fetched, we say so plainly and you can upload the file instead. A link that fails costs nothing.
Filming piano so it transcribes well
- Put the phone on a stand near the piano, not across the room.
- Turn off the television, fans and anything that hums.
- Play the piece once through, at a steady tempo, with no talking over it.
- Go easy on the sustain pedal if you can. Heavy pedal blurs notes together.
More detail in how to record piano on your phone.
Synthesia and tutorial videos
Videos with falling coloured notes usually have clean, computer-played piano sound, which tends to transcribe well. Tutorials with someone talking between phrases do not; trim the talking out first or record the piece yourself.
What comes back
The same as any upload: a score on screen, a PDF, a MusicXML file for MuseScore, a MIDI file, and free key changes. Notes we are unsure of are printed in grey.