Audio to MIDI

Converting audio to MIDI by drag and drop

1. Select the Audio Clip:

• Choose one or more audio clips (or clip groups) from an audio track or the Clip List.
• You can also select audio files from the macOS Finder, Windows Explorer, or Workspace browsers.

2. Drag the Audio Clip to a MIDI or Instrument Track:

• Drag and drop the selected audio clip(s) onto a MIDI or Instrument Track.

3. Choose a Conversion Type:

• When the Audio to MIDI Properties dialog box appears, choose the most appropriate conversion option for your audio:
  • Percussive: For drums or rhythmic elements.
  • Melodic: For solo instruments like guitar, saxophone, or vocals.
  • Polyphonic: For chords and harmonic instruments, such as keyboards or string sections.

• If you are dragging multiple audio clips to a single track, you can enable the Consolidate Clips option. This will create a single MIDI clip from the source audio clips instead of individual ones.

5. Complete the Conversion:

• Once you’ve selected your conversion settings, the audio clips will be copied as MIDI onto the destination track. The resulting MIDI notes will match the pitch and timing of the original audio performance.

Converting audio to MIDI by copying and pasting

Pro Tools lets you copy audio as MIDI from selected audio clips on audio tracks or in the Clips List, and paste the extracted MIDI data to MIDI and Instrument tracks.

To copy and paste audio as MIDI:

1. Copy Audio as MIDI:

• Do one of the following:
  • Right-click an audio clip on an audio track or in the Clips List and choose Copy Audio as MIDI.
  • Select one or more audio clips in the Clips List, then choose Copy Audio as MIDI from the Clips List menu, or right-click a selected audio clip and choose Copy Audio as MIDI.
  • Make an edit selection on an audio track that includes any audio (partial, whole, or multiple clips), right-click the selection, and choose Copy Audio as MIDI.

2. Select Conversion Type:

• In the resulting Audio to MIDI Properties dialog, choose the most appropriate Conversion Type for the source audio (e.g., select Percussive for drums or Melodic for a vocal line).

3. Consolidate Clips (Optional):

• Enable the Consolidate Clips option to create a single MIDI clip from the source audio clips.

4. Place Edit Cursor:

• Place the edit cursor at the time location on a MIDI or Instrument track where you want to paste the extracted MIDI.

5. Paste:

• Choose Edit > Paste, or press Command + V (Mac) or Control + V (Windows). The MIDI extracted from the copied audio is pasted as a new MIDI clip at the time location of the edit cursor on the target MIDI or Instrument track.

Converting audio to MIDI through the menu

In addition to drag-and-drop and copy-paste, Pro Tools offers the option to extract MIDI from audio through the Track menu.

To extract MIDI from audio using the Track menu:

1. Select an Audio Track:

• Select an audio track in your session.

2. Extract MIDI:

• Do one of the following:
  • Go to Track > Extract MIDI to New Track.
  • Right-click the track name in the Track List or in the Mix/Edit window, and choose Extract MIDI to New Track.

3. Select Conversion Type:

• In the Audio to MIDI Properties dialog, choose the appropriate Conversion Type for your audio (e.g., Melodic for pitched material, Percussive for drums).

4. Destination Track:

• Choose whether to extract the MIDI to a MIDI or Instrument track.

5. Consolidate Clips (Optional):

• Enable Consolidate Clips if you want to combine multiple audio clips into one MIDI clip

Why Use Audio to MIDI in Pro Tools?

Converting audio to MIDI opens up a wide range of creative possibilities:

• Experiment with Different Instruments: Take a melody, drum part, or even a guitar riff and replace it with a virtual instrument.
• Tweak and Refine: After conversion, you can fine-tune the MIDI notes to perfect the performance or adjust timing and pitch more precisely than with audio.
• Repurpose Audio Performances: Turn a guitar riff into a keyboard part, or convert a vocal melody into a synth line.
• Trigger Virtual Instruments: Once converted, you can use the MIDI data to trigger any virtual instrument, transforming the original audio into completely new sounds.