mp3 to midi

is there a program that can do this?

even mono sources would be helpful

thanks?

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› See More: mp3 to midi

If you go to Hidden Content you can download a free trial version from them which converts midi to wave files (even polyphonic music)

::updates FAQ::

FAQ page addresses this.
Hidden Content

Hey tpearl5 - we musta been on the same wavelength
Hidden Content

it is possible to transfer files from a mp3 to a midi or do I have to
download a specific midi. Some songs I can't find in midi but can in mp3
Thanks

yeah you can convert them, go to Hidden Content and type like "mp3 to midi convert" should come up with some programs gotta try them

YOu can try that -
Personally I have yet to find a Wav or MP3 to midi app that works worth a sh*t.

If you find one - please let us know!
Good luck

So, have any of you found one that would work well enough, on say....a single instrument audio clip(like a bassline by itself)? So I could transcribe some stuff.. Let me know

Yeah, i've tried to find programs to do that. In reality, to get a perfect conversion, it must be done by manually Hidden Content

thanks i have been looking for something like that forever

I'm sure we'd all like to find a program to convert .mp3 or .wav etc files to .mid but to be honest and realistic, I can't see it ever happening (except in the case where a single instrument is used). If someone could write one, then all those guys using Cakewalk to produce those wonderful midi files would be wasting their time. Bad for them. Great for everyone else.

Why will it never happen...?

Its like this...

You have to understand what a. MP3, .WAV and .MID files actually contain and why it is that .MP3 and .WAV files are an order of magnitude bigger than .MID files.

.MP3 and .WAV files (plus lots of other audio format files) contain an actual representation of the sound. Pretty much like an track on an audio CD. Apart from putting it through a graphic equaliser, there's not much manipulation that can be done with it. The sound is pretty much fixed. No way you could mute the bass guitar or drums for example. The files are big because they contain all the music and vocal sounds.

A .MID file contains no sound whatsoever. Huh!, I hear you gasp. Thats right, there is no sound in a .MID file. A .MID file contains simple instructions about how to play a musical instrument. Ever heard anyone singing on a .MID file? Thought not. So, if you examined a .MID file, you'd file something like the following.

After 0 seconds play note C# for quarter of a second
After 1/4 seconds play note E for quarter of a second
After 1/2 seconds play note F for half of a second
After 1 & 1/2 seconds play note A for quarter of a second
i.e. at a certain time, play a certain note for a certain length of time.

You can imagine someone actually sitting at a piano (for example)pressing the keys. If your computer is connected to a music keyboard, then the keyboard simulates the keys being pressed and produces the appropriate sound. If you have a sound card connected to your PC, then the sound card synthesises the sound that the real instrument would make (or something close... maybe) and puts it out through your speakers.

But its more complicated than that, because a music keyboard can often emulate upto 16 instruments simultaneously. So in the midi file you actually get something more like...

Firstly
Instrument 1 is a piano
Instrument 2 is a nylon guitar
Instrument 3 is a Pick guitar
Instrument 4 is a Flute
Instrument 10 is a set of Rock drums

Secondly
For each Instrument there is a separate set of instructions like that shown above.

When using sequencer software, the correct nomenclature is different. Each set of instructions is often called a track. A track is usually assigned to one of the 16 channels. And usually one instrument is selected for each channel (but actually the instrument can be changed part way through a track). Instruments are usually called patches.

Anyway, the space required to record the sets of instructions is very small, and so the file size of a midi file is really quite small. The nice thing about midi files is that, since the file contains instructions, the instructions can be changed using sequencer software, like Cakewalk. Notes can be added, removed, changed. Instruments can be changed. Tracks can be added and removed.

The relative volume of an instrument and it's position within a stereo setup (PAN) can also be changed. Reverb, Echo, Chorus can all be changed plus lots of other stuff. This is where the guy doing the sequencing stops being a musician and starts being a sound engineer.

Anyway, to get back to the original point, assume you have a piece of music with 16 instruments and a vocal part in a .MP3 file. Listen to it. Can you pick out a single instrument, say the overdrive guitar...? Maybe sometimes you can. And sometimes, I bet you can't. If several instruments make a sound simultaneously, then the sound of any single instrument is lost with the rest.

If you can't pick it out with your ear, then how can you expect a computer to pick it out? Its like saying "I've added three numbers together and the result is 100. Now tell me what the numbers were". If you start with the three numbers and I want to know the result of the addition...of course, no problem.

Sorry!, I just realised how much I typed in here. Lesson over.

Cheers.

Yes, mp3 - wav to midi has to do pitch detection - a very difficult task in even simple files

Wilkinsonde, you said it in a ...'nutshell'????
like he said, the only thing I can add is don't waste your time trying to convert wav & mp3. If a proggy says it can do it, try it, try again, then throw it out. get another proggy, try it, throw it out. Get the idea? put your time and effort into learning how to program a midifile, you'll be surprised how it comes together, and after a while(a long while) it gets quicker. No doubt one day someone will come up with the answer, but untill then.....

Some time ago I came across a program that converted Wav to Midi it did a little but it was still lousey, I was wondering if anyone knows of a more recent decent program

Jenski Hidden Content )