MusicXML to MIDI Converter Online
Turn notation data into a playable MIDI file. Upload a MusicXML score and carry its notes into a DAW, sequencer, or practice workflow.
- MusicXML / MXL
- Notation to playback
- Standard MIDI
Click a note to hear it
How it works
Upload the score
Choose a .musicxml, .xml, or .mxl file exported by your notation application.
Convert the notation
The score is parsed into MIDI tracks, notes, timing, instruments, and supported musical directions.
Preview and download
Review the generated MIDI on the piano roll, then download it for a DAW or sequencer.
Formats & limits
- Input formats
- MusicXML / XML / MXL
- Output
- MIDI (.mid)
- File limits
- 10 MB · 10 min
- Price
- Free · no sign-up
Preparing MusicXML for MIDI export
- Export MusicXML directly from the source notation application instead of converting a PDF or image.
- Check repeats, tempo marks, transposing instruments, and percussion mapping in the source score before export.
- MIDI cannot preserve engraving details such as page layout, fonts, or exact symbol placement.
- Complex notation may sound different after conversion because playback interpretation varies between applications.
Frequently asked questions
Which MusicXML files are supported?
This converter accepts three related file types that all carry the same underlying MusicXML notation data: the standard .musicxml extension, generic .xml files that contain MusicXML content rather than some other XML schema, and compressed .mxl archives, which are the zipped format most modern notation software exports by default to keep file sizes down. You don't need to know or convert between these variants yourself — whichever one your notation software produced, upload it as-is and the parser handles the difference internally. If a file fails to parse, the most common cause isn't the extension but the file not actually being valid MusicXML underneath it, for instance an .xml file that was renamed rather than genuinely exported in that format.
Will the result look identical to the score?
No, and that's an inherent property of the MIDI format rather than something this converter falls short on. MusicXML describes a page: staff positions, beaming, exact symbol placement, fonts, and layout. MIDI describes a performance: which notes sound, when they start and stop, and how loud they are, with nothing at all about how that would look printed on paper. Converting from one to the other necessarily keeps the performance data — the notes and their timing — while discarding everything about visual engraving, because MIDI has no concept of a page to preserve that information on in the first place. If you need both a playable file and the original visual score, keep the source MusicXML alongside the converted MIDI rather than expecting one to replace the other.
Can I open the MIDI in a DAW?
Yes — the output is a Standard MIDI File, the same universal format every mainstream DAW, sequencer, and notation application reads, so there's no compatibility concern specific to this converter. Download the .mid file after conversion and import it directly into Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, or any other software that handles MIDI tracks; each part from the original score typically arrives as its own track, ready to assign an instrument sound to and edit further. From there you can treat it like any other MIDI import: quantize timing, transpose, reassign instruments, or layer it into a larger arrangement, all independent of whichever notation application originally produced the MusicXML.
Why do some articulations sound different?
MusicXML and MIDI represent playing technique very differently: a score can specify staccato, legato slurs, accents, or ornaments as notation symbols with no fixed audio meaning attached, while MIDI can only express playback through concrete note-level values like velocity, duration, and pitch bends. When the conversion translates one into the other, it has to pick a specific numeric interpretation for what was originally a notational instruction, and different notation applications don't all agree on exactly how loud an accent should be or how short a staccato note should play. The notes and rhythm themselves convert reliably; it's specifically these performance-nuance markings where you may want to listen back and manually adjust a few notes' velocity or length in a DAW afterward if the default interpretation doesn't match what you intended.
Does each instrument or part become its own MIDI track?
Yes — a multi-part score, whether that's a piano's left and right hand written as two staves or a full ensemble score with a dozen instrument parts, is parsed part by part rather than being flattened into one combined track, and each part becomes its own separate MIDI track in the output file. This preserves the structure you'd expect from the original score: after conversion, you can still solo an individual part to check it in isolation, mute specific instruments while working on others, or reassign any one part to a different instrument sound entirely, exactly the same editing flexibility you'd have working from a properly multi-tracked DAW project rather than a single flattened performance.
What's the file size limit?
Uploads are capped at 10 MB, a ceiling that comfortably covers a typical single-movement piece or even a fairly substantial multi-movement work, since MusicXML is a relatively compact text-based format even before compression. If a compressed .mxl export happens to sit close to that limit — which can happen with scores that embed fonts, images, or unusually large amounts of formatting data — try exporting uncompressed .musicxml instead, since the size difference is sometimes surprisingly small once actual notation content dominates the file. For a genuinely large multi-movement work that still exceeds the limit either way, splitting it into separate files per movement before converting each one individually is the more reliable path.