MP3 to midi convertors?

[polymath]

Does anyone know of any free software that converts MP3s to midi? 

[retrouvailles]

It sounds like it would be impossible.

[Bob]

The most I've seen for audio (mp3 or whatever type of audio) is one line.  I heard something about getting chords but haven't seen anything with that.  I haven't looked for awhile though. 

[Derek]

I was thinking of software like that recently myself. However for my purpose it would be converting old digital piano recordings (wav, before I had a midi cable   ) to midi. Since my digital piano has a finite set of samples it plays back, it seems to me it might be possible to write a program which could convolve those samples with an old recording, and where I find spikes in the output would give hints as to where each notes begin. I think it could work.  As for a generalized WAV to midi, determining even what instruments are playing and dealing with possible overtones and other complications, I think that would be a daunting task!

[ted]

This has been a major unsolved computing problem for many years. Last year I heard that it had been solved and that software known as "Melodyne PlugIn version 2 with DNA", capable of transcribing a complex piano solo sample, would be available from Celemony this year. I have absolutely no idea if there is any truth in this, or if true, exactly how complex a solo can be handled. Things are available to pick out very simple chords and so on but nowhere near a complex, fast solo. Celemony have an internet site, so it might be interesting to enquire.

A lot of bright people have worked on this problem for a very long time, so I would have thought a solution would cause as much publicity as the discovery of mp3 and jpeg algorithms. You never know though.

[giannalinda]

Sounds practically im possible...mind you

[Bob]

I imagine, if it's even possible, to separate out blended sounds, that that would be extremely difficult.  I could understand something eventually picking out chords better, but if it's a nice, blended, intune, full orchestra chord?  To split that out into parts? 

And it could also tell how many people are playing on part, in case parts are doubled with two players on one part.  Sure, why not? 

Chords sounds doable though.  All the lines in the piece.  Maybe not separated out into instrument, but a concert pitch score sounds like it might be possible. 

[giannalinda]

Maybe i should....idk someone should....how bout the person that came up with the idea
that a good idea....Im so smart....

[Bob]

Yes, you should.  You should invent that.  Go now. Run.  Like the wind. 

I'll buy one when you invent it.

And if you do, you'll be extremely rich. 

[richard black]

I've not seen any software available that can do that, but obviously it can be done, in principle. The human brain can do it and we don't have any processing means available for that kind of task that can't be replicated on a general-purpose computer.

[Bob]

Computers aren't great at distinguishing what we mean by vowel sounds.  I heard that's why we don't see so much speech recognition software.  Vowel sounds are exactly the same sound to a computer, but we know them in context, so we understand what letters they represent. 

I guess another way to do it is to find a person who will transcribe it for you.  But that loses so much learning that you get from doing that type of thing yourself.

[richard black]

Computers aren't great at distinguishing what we mean by vowel sounds.

That's true and in many ways that's a harder problem than turning an MP3 of instrumental music into a MIDI file.