Convert MIDI to CSV

A spreadsheet, database, or analysis script cannot directly use the binary event structure of a Standard MIDI File. Converting it to CSV exposes notes, timing, controllers, tempo changes, and metadata as rows that can be inspected or processed with ordinary data tools.

What the MIDI format is

MIDI is an event format that stores musical instructions rather than recorded sound. A Standard MIDI File can contain tracks, note-on and note-off events, instrument changes, sustain-pedal controls, tempo changes, time and key signatures, system-exclusive data, and text metadata.

Digital audio workstations, notation programs, hardware sequencers, and songwriting applications create or export MIDI files, commonly with .mid or .midi extensions. Applications such as MuseScore, Cubase, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, and Reaper use MIDI for sequencing and interchange. Events are timed in ticks; the file header defines the ticks-per-quarter-note value, and tempo events determine the relationship between ticks and seconds.

What the CSV format is

CSV is plain text in which records occupy lines and fields occupy columns separated by a delimiter, usually a comma. Spreadsheets, Python, R, SQL importers, and data-analysis software can read it without a MIDI parser.

There is no single official MIDI-to-CSV schema. A converter may write one event per row with fields for track, tick, event type, channel, note, velocity, controller, program, tempo, or metadata. Other converters use different column names, delimiters, timing conventions, or representations for the same event. Confirm the required schema before importing the result.

Convert with MIDI CSV

MIDI CSV is the most suitable desktop option when the output must retain the Standard MIDI File structure and be convertible back to MIDI. Its midicsv program decodes a MIDI file into a documented CSV representation, and csvmidi encodes that representation again. Obtain the programs from the project’s official source or a trusted operating-system package; avoid unverified executable downloads.

1. Install midicsv and csvmidi, then open Terminal, Command Prompt, or PowerShell in the directory containing the file.
2. Run midicsv input.mid output.csv.
3. Inspect or edit output.csv with a text editor. If using a spreadsheet, import it with the comma delimiter and UTF-8 encoding instead of opening and resaving it automatically.
4. To recreate a MIDI file, run csvmidi output.csv recreated.mid.

The MIDI CSV output normally includes header information, track boundaries, timing division, channel events, and MIDI meta-events. Preserve the original MIDI file because spreadsheet software can change delimiters, integer values, encodings, or field formatting.

Create a custom analysis CSV with Python

Use a script when the receiving system needs a smaller schema, such as one row per event with track, absolute tick, type, channel, note, velocity, controller, program, and tempo columns. Install Mido with python -m pip install mido and save this as midi_events.py:

import csv
import sys
import mido

midi = mido.MidiFile(sys.argv[1])
fields = ["track", "tick", "type", "channel", "note", "velocity", "control", "value", "program", "tempo"]

with open(sys.argv[2], "w", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as f:
    writer = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=fields)
    writer.writeheader()
    for track_number, track in enumerate(midi.tracks):
        tick = 0
        for message in track:
            tick += message.time
            row = {field: "" for field in fields}
            row["track"] = track_number
            row["tick"] = tick
            row["type"] = message.type
            for field in ("channel", "note", "velocity", "control", "value", "program", "tempo"):
                if hasattr(message, field):
                    row[field] = getattr(message, field)
            writer.writerow(row)

Run it with python midi_events.py input.mid events.csv. Mido supplies delta times for each track, so the script accumulates them into absolute tick positions. This simplified export does not preserve every MIDI field, including time-signature components, key-signature text, lyric text, and system-exclusive payloads; add explicit columns if those events matter.

Online conversion

Most reputable online converters support MIDI-to-audio formats rather than structured MIDI-event CSV, so a local MIDI CSV installation is usually the correct choice. If a service specifically offers MIDI CSV export, test it with a known file, verify its schema and reconstructed MIDI output, and check its upload-retention policy before sending unpublished music or embedded metadata.

Quality and compatibility limits

CSV contains event data, not rendered audio. It cannot preserve a synthesizer’s sound, plug-in settings, samples, mixing, or effects unless those details are represented by MIDI events and the receiving system knows how to interpret them.

Note duration is normally derived from a note-on event and a later note-off event; it is not necessarily a duration field. Calculate musical time from ticks and the file’s ticks-per-quarter-note value. Calculate seconds by applying tempo changes, which can occur at different positions in the file. A note-on event with velocity zero is commonly used as a note-off and must be handled accordingly.

For reversible editing, use the complete MIDI CSV representation rather than a custom reduced export. Keep tick values as integers, retain event ordering, preserve the expected comma delimiter and UTF-8 encoding, and avoid spreadsheet conversions to dates or scientific notation. After editing, run csvmidi and open the recreated file in a MIDI player or sequencer to check timing, tracks, controllers, and metadata.