FROM NOTES TO A FINISHED TAKE
How to turn
MIDI into audio.
MIDI stores a performance: notes, timing, velocity and controllers. It needs an instrument to become sound. The right way to convert it depends on whether you want to keep your current sound or create a new take.
Already like the sound? Bounce your instrument.
If a virtual instrument in your DAW already plays the sound you want, export or bounce that track to audio. The DAW records the instrument’s output, including the effects you choose to include. This is the direct route for keeping your existing patch and performance.
A MIDI file alone does not contain that instrument’s samples or sound. Renaming a .mid file to .wav will not convert it, and sending the same MIDI to another instrument can produce a different result.
Need a MIDI-to-MP3 or MIDI-to-WAV converter?
A file converter plays the MIDI through a sound library, then saves that sound as audio. A SoundFont-based converter is useful for a quick preview or a shareable MP3. The instrument library determines what you hear; the MIDI file does not carry its original sounds with it.
For a finished DAW part, bounce the instrument you already use to preserve its sound and effects. For a new instrument take from the same notes, use a phrase renderer such as MIDI.audio. The Mac beta uses hosted AI rendering and returns audio to your session. This website offers demos and the plugin download; rendering happens through the installed app.
Want a different character? Render an instrument take.
MIDI.audio uses your MIDI phrase to generate instrument audio on a hosted service. It is an option when you have the notes and want to try another instrument performance. You can hear actual outputs in the audio demos before downloading.
- Import your MIDI. Export the clip or regions you want from your DAW and import the file into MIDI.audio. REAPER VST3 can read a selected track and time range directly.
- Choose an instrument. Start with an instrument default or add a reference recording to guide its character. Use only material you have permission to submit.
- Render a take. Rendering requires an internet connection and time to complete. Drag the result into your DAW to listen; the plugin does not have a built-in audio player.
- Bring the audio into your session. Shape the result with the plugin’s filters, compression and reverb, then drag the audio into your DAW. Keep the original MIDI so you can revise the notes and render another take.
Prepare a phrase that is easy to evaluate.
Start with a short, clearly selected phrase from one instrument part. Check the exported file’s tempo, note lengths and included tracks. Imported files can contain more than the part you intended, and pressing Render submits every track in the chosen file.
If a note crosses the start of a selection, include its onset when you want a continuous attack. In REAPER, the direct reader follows the active MIDI items; MIDI generated later by track effects or routing is not baked into the piano-roll data.
Compare the result in the mix as well as on its own. Changing the instrument or reference changes the rendering; it does not preserve the exact sound of an existing virtual-instrument patch.
Choose the workflow that fits your session.
| Your goal | A useful starting point |
|---|---|
| Keep a virtual instrument’s current sound | Bounce or export that instrument track in your DAW. |
| Try a rendered instrument take from your notes | Import the MIDI into MIDI.audio and audition a render. |
| Play a keyboard and hear an immediate response | Use a live virtual instrument. MIDI.audio renders phrases. |
| Extract notes from an existing recording | Use audio-to-MIDI transcription. That is a different process. |
The current MIDI.audio beta is free and requires an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 13 or later. See installation and DAW setup and how submitted music is used.