GUITAR TO MIDI · RIFFS · CHORDS · NO UPLOAD

Guitar to MIDI: Convert a Guitar Recording to Notes

You can convert a recorded guitar part to MIDI with the homepage converter. Single-note riffs and melodies give the cleanest result; chords produce simultaneous notes but need more editing. The output is MIDI notes — not tablature — and bends and slides are rounded to the nearest semitone.

Open the free converter

How to convert, step by step

Open the converter. Go to the MP3toMIDIFlow homepage. The converter is at the top of the page; nothing needs to be installed.
Choose your file. Select or drag in one guitar recording (MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, AAC or WMA, or the audio in an MP4/MOV video). A clean DI or close-miked single guitar works best.
Convert in the browser. Select Convert to MIDI and keep the tab open. The note-detection model and decoder load from this site and run on your device; your audio is not uploaded.
Download and edit. Download the .mid file and open it in a DAW or notation editor to set the tempo, fix wrong notes and choose an instrument sound.

Why turn guitar audio into MIDI?

Guitarists use audio-to-MIDI to double a riff with a synth, to get a part into notation software as a starting point for a transcription, or to capture an idea played on guitar into a DAW project built around MIDI. If you have a guitar-to-MIDI pickup or a MIDI guitar, recording MIDI directly will always be more accurate; this converter is for when you only have audio.

How it works

Your recording is decoded in the browser, mixed to mono and analysed by Spotify's open-source Basic Pitch model, which detects pitched notes and can find several at once. Detected notes are written to a single MIDI track with start times, lengths and loudness-based velocities. Nothing is uploaded.

What to expect from different guitar parts

Single-note lines, riffs and solos on a clean tone are the best case.
Arpeggios and fingerpicking usually work, but notes that ring into each other may get odd lengths.
Strummed chords produce chords, but often with missing inner voices, extra overtone notes and smeared timing, because the strings are struck a few milliseconds apart. Read why extra chord notes appear before deleting notes.
Distortion and heavy effects add harmonics and noise that the model can read as extra notes. Power chords through high gain are especially messy.
Bends, slides and vibrato are rounded to fixed semitone notes because the file contains no pitch-bend data. A bend may become two notes or one note at the wrong pitch.
Palm mutes and percussive strums have little stable pitch and may be missed.

Tips for a clean guitar to MIDI conversion

Record DI if you can. A clean direct signal from an audio interface, before amp simulation, is far easier to transcribe than an amp tone with effects. Many DAW users record the DI alongside the amped track for exactly this reason.
Play cleanly and let notes stop. Mute strings you are not playing; unwanted ringing strings become unwanted notes.
Convert the guitar on its own. The converter does not separate guitar from bass, drums or vocals in a mix.
Tune up. A slightly out-of-tune guitar pushes notes towards the neighbouring semitone.
Work in short sections (the limit is 3 minutes per file) so it is easy to compare with the audio.

No tablature, no string or fret information

MIDI notes say which pitch was played, not where on the neck. The same pitch can be played on several strings, so the converter cannot know your fingering. If you import the MIDI into notation software that can show tablature, it will choose a fingering for you, and you will often need to move notes to the strings you actually used. The file also does not set a guitar sound: it plays with whatever instrument your software assigns.

After conversion

The MIDI is written at a fixed 120 BPM. Set your project tempo to match the recording, then remove short stray notes, fix bend pitches and quantize lightly if needed.

Limits that apply to every file

One file at a time, up to 50 MB and 3 minutes. Trim longer recordings into sections first.
Mono analysis. The audio is mixed down to one channel at 22,050 Hz before note detection. If the left and right channels cancel each other out, see why a file that plays can be reported as silent.
One instrument track, fixed tempo. All detected notes go on a single MIDI track. The file is written at 120 BPM; the converter does not detect the song's tempo, key or time signature, so bar lines in your DAW will not line up with the music until you adjust them.
No pitch-bend data. Each detected note is written as a plain note-on/note-off with a velocity based on its loudness.

Questions

Can I convert guitar audio to tabs?

Not directly. The converter outputs MIDI notes without string or fret information. Notation software that supports tablature can generate tabs from the MIDI, but you should check the fingering.

Does it work with distorted guitar?

It can, but distortion adds harmonics that often become extra notes. A clean or DI recording gives much better results.

Are guitar bends converted?

No pitch-bend data is written, so bends are rounded to fixed semitone notes.

Can it separate the guitar from a full song?

No. Everything pitched in the recording is transcribed to one track, so use an isolated guitar recording.