Free online AIF to MIDI converter

When a recording in AIF format needs to be edited as notes in a music program or played by a MIDI instrument, it must be transcribed rather than simply re-saved. The result is an estimate of the pitches and timings in the recording, not a copy of its sound.

What AIF contains

AIF, also written AIFF, is an audio file format that stores sampled sound, commonly as uncompressed PCM. It is used for recording and exchanging audio, and files may come from digital audio workstations such as Logic Pro or GarageBand. An AIF file contains the recorded waveform, including its timbre and background sound.

What MIDI contains

MIDI stores musical events such as note pitches, start times, durations, and velocities; it does not store recorded audio. A MIDI file is useful for editing notes in a digital audio workstation, arranging parts, or sending performance instructions to a synthesizer. It is usually much smaller than a recording, but playback depends on the instrument or sound library used.

How to convert AIF to MIDI

Audio-to-MIDI conversion analyzes the recording to identify notes. Results depend on the audio: a clean solo melody is easier to transcribe than a chord-heavy mix with drums, effects, or overlapping instruments.

Online on 101convert.com

1. Open the AIF-to-MIDI converter on 101convert.com and upload an AIF file.
2. Choose MIDI as the output format, then start the conversion.
3. Download the converted MIDI file when the conversion finishes.

The converter supports batch conversion for several files at once. Its per-file size limit is shown on the page.

Offline with desktop software

Basic Pitch is a free, open-source audio-to-MIDI transcription tool that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Install it with python -m pip install basic-pitch, then run basic-pitch output/ recording.aif. The generated MIDI file is saved in the output directory. If the tool cannot read a particular AIF file, open it in an audio editor such as Audacity, export it as WAV, and use that WAV file as the input instead.

Logic Pro (macOS, commercial) can create MIDI notes from an audio region using Flex Pitch. Import the AIF file, select its audio region, enable Flex and choose Flex Pitch, then use Edit → Create MIDI Track. Review the generated notes and correct pitch or timing errors before using the track.

Quality and limitations

Transcription cannot preserve the original recording’s tone, room sound, or effects in MIDI; it only produces note events. Polyphonic audio may yield missed notes or false detections, so inspect the MIDI in a piano roll and compare it with the AIF. MIDI playback will sound different unless the destination program uses a suitable instrument.