MusicXML to MIDI Converter: Turn .musicxml, .xml and .mxl Scores into MIDI

To convert MusicXML to MIDI, drop a .musicxml, .xml or compressed .mxl file on the converter below. ToMIDI reads every part with its notes, ties, tuplets, tempo and dynamics, shows the parts as tracks you can play, and writes a standard .mid that opens in any DAW, sequencer or MIDI player. Choose the parts to keep and the instrument each one plays, then download. It runs in your browser: free, no sign-up, nothing uploaded.

.musicxml, .xml, .mxl
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Open a MusicXML score to turn it into MIDI

MUSICXML · XML · MXLup to 30 MB, read in your browser

or drop a file anywhere on this cardO open a fileD first demo

Demo files

Public domain or our own pieces, opened in one click

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Why Your DAW Will Not Open a MusicXML File

MusicXML is how notation apps such as MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale and Dorico swap scores: it describes the page, with clefs, beams, slurs and layout. DAWs, sequencers, synths and MIDI players expect a performance instead: which note sounds, when, how long and how loud. A MusicXML to MIDI converter bridges the two, so a score from a notation app can drive real instruments.

Ableton Live and FL Studio do not import MusicXML at all, and neither do synths or MIDI players.
Opening a notation app just to export one MIDI file is slow, and many people do not have one installed.
A compressed .mxl file is a zip archive, not a file a DAW can read.
Ties, tuplets and tempo marks have to be turned into exact note lengths and a tempo map.

Open a MusicXML File

Why Use ToMIDI as Your MusicXML to MIDI Converter

What matters when a score has to become a MIDI file that plays the way it reads.

.musicxml, .xml and .mxl
Open plain MusicXML or the compressed .mxl version straight from MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, Dorico, Flat or Noteflight. The .mxl archive is unpacked in your browser.
Notes that last the right length
Tied notes become one long MIDI note, tuplets get their exact share of the beat, and repeats, first and second endings, D.C. and D.S. are played in order, so the .mid follows the score.
Tempo and dynamics carried over
Tempo marks become the tempo map of the MIDI file. Dynamics from pp to ff, hairpins between them, accents and staccato set how hard and how long each note is played.
Choose parts and instruments
Every part becomes its own MIDI track named after the part, drum parts on channel 10. Keep the ones you need, pick the General MIDI instrument each one plays, or download an all-piano version for practice apps.
Preview before you download
See the converted notes as notation or on a parts timeline and play the whole score at any speed with a simple preview synth, so you can check every note before you save the MIDI file.
Your score stays private
The file is read, played and converted inside your browser tab. Nothing is uploaded, so a commission or an exam piece stays on your device.

How to Convert MusicXML to MIDI in Four Steps

A score converts in a second or two: there is nothing to transcribe, only notation to read.

In MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale or Dorico, export the score as MusicXML (.musicxml or .mxl). Scores downloaded as .xml work too.
Drop the file on the converter above, or click to choose it. Each part appears as a track with its name, note count and instrument.
Untick parts you do not need, mute one to hear the others, change the instrument of any part and press play to hear the result.
Save the MIDI file and open it in your DAW, a sequencer, a hardware synth or the MIDI player.

Step 1 · Export MusicXML from your notation app

What the MusicXML Reader Keeps in the MIDI File

How each part of a MusicXML score turns into MIDI data.

Notes, chords, ties and tuplets

Each note element gives a pitch and a duration in divisions of a beat. The converter adds up tied notes into one sounding note, gives each note of a triplet a third of the beat, keeps chord tones together and follows backup and forward elements so several voices on one staff stay in time.

Convert a Score

ToMIDI

TripletTie

MusicXML → MIDI

    <step>E</step>
  <duration>2</duration>
    <actual-notes>3</actual-notes>
    <normal-notes>2</normal-notes>
    <tuplet type="start"/>
    <step>F</step>
  <duration>2</duration>
    <actual-notes>3</actual-notes>
    <normal-notes>2</normal-notes>
    <step>E</step>
  <duration>2</duration>
    <actual-notes>3</actual-notes>
    <normal-notes>2</normal-notes>
    <tuplet type="stop"/>

E5tick 960160 long

F5tick 1120160 long

E5tick 1280160 long

Three notes share one beat: 160 ticks each.

One track per part, with the instrument you choose

A string quartet becomes four tracks named Violin I, Violin II, Viola and Cello. The converter guesses a General MIDI instrument from each part name; change any of them, or drop parts you do not need, before you write the MusicXML MIDI file.

Pick Instruments

Tempo marks and dynamics become playback

A metronome mark or a sound tempo element starts a new tempo in the MIDI file, so an Allegro that slows into an Adagio plays that way in your DAW. Dynamics from pp to ff set note velocity, a hairpin between two dynamics ramps it, accents hit harder and staccato notes are shortened, so a crescendo on the page is heard as one.

Hear the Dynamics

A MusicXML viewer and player in the browser

Not sure what a file contains? Open it to see the notes as notation or on a parts timeline and play it back, a quick MusicXML player online for a score someone sent you, with no notation app to install. Click a note to hear it. Compressed .mxl files are unzipped on your device, never on a server.

Preview a File

MusicXML to MIDI Example: See Each Note Become MIDI

A short two-part score, the opening of Ode to Joy, with a tie, a triplet, a tempo mark and two dynamics. Click a note in the MusicXML to see the MIDI note it becomes.

Ode to Joy · ode-to-joy.musicxml

2 parts · 4 bars · ♩ = 100 · 21 MIDI notes from 22 written notes

Flute

Cello

MusicXML · Flute · bar 1

<note>
  <pitch>
    <step>E</step>
    <octave>5</octave>
  </pitch>
  <duration>6</duration>
  <type>quarter</type>
</note>

divisions = 6 per quarter, so a duration of 6 lasts 1 beat.

MIDI note

76 (E5)

Starts at

tick 0

Length

480 ticks

Velocity

49 (p)

Track

Flute

Instrument

Flute (GM 74)

What you are looking at

Each note element on the left becomes one MIDI note on the right: its pitch, its start in ticks, its length and its velocity. The tied D is written as two notes but sounds as one. The triplet shares one beat three ways. The p and f marks change velocity. Play it, or switch a part off to hear the other alone.

Convert Your Own MusicXML

MusicXML vs MIDI: What Changes in the Conversion

MusicXML describes how music looks; MIDI describes how it is played. Notes, rhythm, repeats, tempo and dynamics come across, but layout, slurs, fingerings and text have no place in a MIDI file. A few markings that a player interprets are kept plain, and after reading the file the converter lists anything it did not perform, so you know what to check.

Page layout, beaming, slurs, fingerings, lyrics and text are not part of a MIDI file.
Trills, turns, tremolos and arpeggios play as the plain written notes.
Fermatas do not hold longer, and swing is not applied: eighths play straight.
A D.C. or D.S. typed only as text, without playback marks, is not followed.

Try a Score

Tips for a Better MusicXML to MIDI Result

A minute in your notation app before you export saves time in the DAW.

Use real repeat and jump symbols

Add D.C., D.S., Coda and Fine from the symbol palette, not as plain text, so they carry the playback marks the converter follows.

Add a tempo mark

A score without a metronome mark plays at a default tempo. Add one at the start, plus any tempo changes, and they carry into the .mid.

Name your parts

Part names become track names and help the converter guess instruments, so "Flute" plays a flute and "Bass" a bass.

Prefer .musicxml or .mxl

Use your app's MusicXML export rather than an old plugin or a PDF. PDF scores need PDF to MIDI instead.

MusicXML Converter Options Compared

As of November 2026, from each product's own pages. A notation app is the right tool when you also need to edit the score; ToMIDI is the quick way to turn MusicXML to MIDI without installing anything or creating an account.

MusicXML Converter Options Compared
	This siteToMIDI	MuseScore Studio	Flat
Where it runs	In your browser, nothing to install	Desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux	In your browser, with an account
Price	Free, no account	Free and open source	Free plan up to 15 scores; MIDI export listed on the paid plan
Steps to get a .mid	Open the file, download	Open the score, then export as MIDI	Import the score, then export
Repeats	Written out (repeats, endings, D.C., D.S., Coda), or switch off	Option to expand repeats on MIDI export	Not stated
Edit the score	No: choose parts and instruments only	Yes, a complete notation editor	Yes, an online notation editor
Your file	Stays on your device	Stays on your computer	Stored in your online account

The MusicXML File Format, Explained

MusicXML is an open standard, now maintained by the W3C Music Notation Community Group, and almost every notation app reads and writes it. These are the music XML files you may meet, next to the MIDI file you get.

The MusicXML File Format, Explained
	What it is	Opens in
.musicxml	Plain MusicXML text, the current standard extension	Notation apps, and this converter
.xml	The same MusicXML text under the older extension	Notation apps, and this converter
.mxl	Compressed MusicXML: a zip archive with the score inside	Notation apps, and this converter
.mid	Standard MIDI file: notes, timing, velocity, tempo and instruments	DAWs, sequencers, synths, MIDI players and notation apps

Who Converts Music XML to MIDI

Anyone with a score from a notation app who needs it to play in something that is not a notation app.

Composers and arrangers

Write in MuseScore, Sibelius or Dorico, then convert MusicXML to MIDI to mock up the piece with better sounds in your DAW.

Producers

Got a lead sheet or a string part as MusicXML? Turn it into MIDI tracks and drop them straight onto virtual instruments.

Teachers and students

Make practice tracks from class scores: keep one part, mute the rest, and play along in any MIDI player or app.

Game and app makers

Many engines and toys read MIDI but not notation. Convert MusicXML once and use the .mid wherever MIDI works.

MusicXML to MIDI Questions, Answered

Straight answers, including what a MIDI file cannot carry.

How do I convert MusicXML to MIDI?

Drop the .musicxml, .xml or .mxl file on the converter at the top of this page. Check the parts and instruments, press play to preview, then download the .mid. MusicXML to MIDI conversion is free, needs no account and runs in your browser.

What is a MusicXML file?

An open format for written music. Where MIDI stores a performance, MusicXML stores the score itself: parts, clefs, key and time signatures, notes, rests, ties, beams, dynamics and text. It is how MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, Dorico and online editors exchange scores, and the W3C Music Notation Community Group maintains the MusicXML file format today.

What is the difference between .musicxml, .xml and .mxl?

.musicxml and .xml hold the same plain MusicXML text; .musicxml is the newer, clearer extension. .mxl is the compressed version, a zip archive with the score inside, which is much smaller. The converter opens all three.

Is MusicXML better than MIDI?

Neither is better; they do different jobs. MusicXML is for reading and editing notation, MIDI is for playing it on instruments, in a DAW or on a synth. That is why you convert music XML to MIDI when a score has to make sound outside a notation app.

Can I play a MusicXML file online without converting it?

Yes. Open it here and press play: the converter works as a MusicXML player online and a simple MusicXML viewer, with the notes redrawn as notation or shown on a parts timeline. The preview is redrawn from the converted notes, so its spacing can differ from your original layout. You only download the MIDI file if you want it.

Does the MIDI file keep tempo changes and dynamics?

Yes. Metronome marks and tempo changes become the tempo map of the .mid, and dynamics from pp to ff set the velocity of the notes that follow them. A hairpin between two dynamics ramps the velocity, accents add weight and staccato notes are shortened.

What happens to repeats, D.C. and D.S. al Coda?

They are played in performance order: repeat barlines, first and second endings, D.C., D.S., Fine and To Coda are all followed, so the .mid plays every bar the way a musician would. Switch Play repeats off to keep each bar once, in written order. Jumps need the playback marks that notation apps add with the symbol; a D.S. typed only as text is not followed.

Are trills, grace notes and other ornaments played?

Grace notes are played, briefly, on the beat. Trills, turns, mordents and tremolos play as the written main note, arpeggios as a plain chord, and fermatas do not hold. The converter tells you how many of these it found, so you can add them by hand in a DAW or the MIDI editor.

Can I choose the instrument for each part?

Yes. Each part becomes its own MIDI track named after the part, with the instrument the score names or one guessed from the part name. Pick any of the 128 General MIDI instruments for a part, or leave a part out. Drum parts go to channel 10 with each drum's own note, and a piano version puts every pitched part on piano.

Do clarinet and horn parts sound at the right pitch?

Yes. When a part declares a transposing instrument, such as clarinet in B-flat or horn in F, the MIDI notes are written at concert pitch, so the part sounds right next to the others.

Can I open Finale .musx or Sibelius .sib files?

No: those are each app's own formats. Export MusicXML from Finale or Sibelius first, then open that file here. MakeMusic stopped developing Finale in 2024, so MusicXML is also the safest way to keep old Finale scores usable.

Can I convert MIDI to MusicXML instead?

Yes, with our MIDI to sheet music tool: it engraves a .mid file as a score and exports MusicXML for any notation app, along with a printable PDF.

Can I convert MusicXML to MP3 or WAV?

In two steps. Convert MusicXML to MIDI here, then render the .mid with MIDI to MP3 or MIDI to WAV for a file anyone can play.

Is my score uploaded?

No. Reading the MusicXML, unpacking an .mxl, preview playback and writing the MIDI file all happen in your browser tab, for files up to 30 MB. Nothing is sent to a server.

What if my score is a PDF or a photo?

MusicXML files from notation apps convert here. A printed or scanned score has to be read first: use PDF to MIDI. To make MIDI from a recording instead, use the audio to MIDI converter.

More Ways to Convert Scores and MIDI

Starting from a PDF, a photo or a recording instead? Pick the matching tool.

Keep Working After MusicXML to MIDI

Play the new MIDI file, fix notes, render audio or turn it back into a score.