Drums to MIDI

Drop a drum recording to turn into MIDI, or select a file. It opens in the studio, ready to export.

WAV · AIF · AIFF · MP3 · M4A · FLAC · OGG

How to convert drums to MIDI

Drum transcription is a different problem from every other kind. There is no melody to find. The questions are which drum, and when, to the millisecond, because a snare that is ten milliseconds late is a different groove.

  1. Add your recording: Drop a WAV, AIFF, MP3, M4A, FLAC or OGG: a drum track, a loop, or the whole song.
  2. Say what it is: One instrument, or a full mix. From a mix, the kit is separated from the band before it is read.
  3. Take the MIDI: Each hit as a note on its drum, with its velocity, on the song’s own tempo. Point it at your own kit or sampler.

More ways to work with your music

Try our online tools to separate, transcribe and convert. Doseedo does it all.

Questions about the drums to MIDI converter?

We have answers.

Can I convert a drum loop to MIDI?

Yes. A loop goes in like a song. Each hit comes back as a note on its drum.

Can it transcribe the drums from a full song?

Yes. Say it is a full mix and the kit is separated from the band first.

Is it free?

Yes, to start. A free account comes with 120 credits a month, with no card needed to start: transcribing one part is 2 credits, and a full mix is separated first, which is 20. Pro has 2,000 a month.

Does it keep the velocity?

Yes. How hard each hit was played is written as the note’s velocity.

Which drums does it tell apart?

Kick, snare, hi-hat, toms, ride and crash. Cymbals overlap the most, so a busy ride over open hats is the hardest thing to sort.

Try our free drums to MIDI converter

  • An onset problem, not a pitch problem

    Pitched instruments are transcribed by asking what note is sounding. Drums are transcribed by asking when something started and what it was. They get their own treatment for that reason, separate from the models that read melody and harmony.

  • The kit is taken apart first

    The drum stem can be split into kick, snare, hi-hat, toms, ride and crash before it is read. A hit is easier to place when it is the only thing on its track, and it means the kick pattern and the hat pattern are yours separately.

  • The feel survives

    The notes are written where they were played, against a tempo map detected from the recording. Swing, a snare that drags, a push into the chorus: they are in the MIDI until you quantise them out.

Drums to MIDI, drum transcription: one job

Drums to MIDI, a drums to MIDI converter, drum transcription and converting a drum loop to MIDI all name this one job. For the kit as separate audio files instead, see the drum stem splitter.

Try these Doseedo tools