MIDI Score <---> Music Notation Score

[AndrewG]

Much was said about getting MIDI from a (computerized) traditional notation for humanizing, better performance, adding effects etc.

My question is exactly opposite: I need to transform a MIDI score (MP3 attached) to a traditional notation score so that I could re-orchestrate it in Finale or Sibelius or whatever and make it readable by human performers. Any suggestions?

[Simon Godden]

Andrew, download ''Notation Player''. It's free. Or you can download ''Notation Composer'' or ''Notation Musician''. They're free for 30 days. Enter your midi file into it and it will come up as a score, then you can import it into your notation package.

[Adrian Allan]

I second notation composer and musician - it is excellent software

http://www.notation.com/NotationComposer.php

Simon Godden said:

Andrew, download ''Notation Player''. It's free. Or you can download ''Notation Composer'' or ''Notation Musician''. They're free for 30 days. Enter your midi file into it and it will come up as a score, then you can import it into your notation package.

[AndrewG]

Thanks, I'll try it... Not sure it will be so simple since the score is not precisely rhythmic.

[Ray Kemp]

If you print this as is you better have plenty paper in the printer :)

AndrewG said:

Thanks, I'll try it... Not sure it will be so simple since the score is not precisely rhythmic.

[Anne Goodwin]

Hi Andrew,

I haven't gotten to the stage in music engraving where I've done any work using MIDI files (except for one brief exercise in my Sibelius course). However, I would think that you take the music through all the stages necessary to achieve a readable score and then make your edits as best as can possibly be done. At that point, it would seem to me that you finalize the score yourself or work with a professional music engraver. What struck me, after watching Pete Whitfield's little video, is that there will be enforced changes - particularly perhaps with rhythm - to the score. These may be very small and minor changes but probably noticeable to yourself and irritating to have to contend with I would think. That's why I was interested in this topic as you have raised it. I am so far finding in my music engraving 'career' that there are always compromises that have to be made. I think even the very best engraving programs cannot do absolutely everything. Therefore, it depends - for me - on the priorities of my client. I cannot go into specifics here but I am simply explaining that this is how things work. -EAG

AndrewG said:

Thanks, I'll try it... Not sure it will be so simple since the score is not precisely rhythmic.

[AndrewG]

Yes Anne and Ray, I realise that squeezing the non-rhythmic free-played MIDI (I have several dozens of such -- perhaps 3-4 hours of music) into a formal notation is not simple and needs decisions as for the meter, bar lines, local tempos, simplifying the time/meter, disambiguating the alteration signs, adding dynamics (sf, fff, p, pp) etc, which inevitably affects the sound since from this point it will be mechanically produced from this formal notation.

Years ago I thought about this as of a scientific project (my main profession is computer science). That is, automatic recognition of such formal signs from the unconstrained MIDI score so that the scores (MIDI and formal) would sound similar to each other. Sorry I do not know the state of the art today and still did not try the recommended NotationComposer, so just now I cannot say more....

[Anne Goodwin]

I'm trying the 'trial' version of Notation right now and I agree, it does look very good. I'm not sure it will resolve every issue in transiting from midi to making a professionally engraved score but of three different options that I have looked into so far, this does look to be the most promising.

Adrian Allan said:

I second notation composer and musician - it is excellent software

http://www.notation.com/NotationComposer.php

Simon Godden said:

Andrew, download ''Notation Player''. It's free. Or you can download ''Notation Composer'' or ''Notation Musician''. They're free for 30 days. Enter your midi file into it and it will come up as a score, then you can import it into your notation package.

[AndrewG]

Yes, it really looks impressive!