Convert MIDI to TXT

A DAW, script, or archive system may require a readable event listing instead of a binary Standard MIDI File. Converting the file to TXT makes notes, timing, channels, lyrics, and controller events searchable and editable as text.

What the MIDI format is

A MIDI file is a binary Standard MIDI File (SMF) containing performance instructions rather than recorded sound. Events can include note-on and note-off messages, tempo changes, instrument changes, controller values, pitch bends, track names, lyrics, and timing data.

Sequencers, notation programs, composers, producers, and hardware-based music systems use MIDI. Common extensions are .mid and .midi. A file can contain multiple tracks, channels, simultaneous notes, tempo changes, and either beat-based or SMPTE timing. A synthesizer, sampler, virtual instrument, or hardware device produces the audible sound later; the MIDI file normally contains no audio.

What the TXT format is

.txt is an unstructured plain-text container. A MIDI export can use it for comma-separated event rows, one event per line, note names, lyrics, metadata, or a format defined by the receiving application.

Plain text is searchable, portable, easy to inspect in editors and command-line tools, and suitable for version control. TXT does not preserve playback behavior by itself. Converting it back to MIDI requires a parser that understands the exact text layout; an export containing only note names or lyrics loses timing, velocity, instruments, and controller data.

How to convert MIDI to TXT

Use MIDIcsv for a complete event listing

MIDIcsv is a suitable local utility when TXT means a technical dump of the MIDI event stream. It converts a MIDI file to comma-separated text containing track numbers, event times in MIDI ticks, event types, channels, and event data. Obtain the appropriate build from the MIDIcsv project distribution, then open a terminal in the folder containing the executable.

1. Place the source file in an accessible folder, such as song.mid.
2. Run midicsv song.mid song.csv.
3. Open the resulting file in Notepad++, Visual Studio Code, or another text editor.
4. If the receiving program requires a TXT extension, rename the output to song.txt only after conversion. Renaming changes the filename, not the comma-separated format inside it.

Typical rows contain events such as Note_on_c, Note_off_c, Tempo, Program_c, and Control_c. The time field is expressed in MIDI ticks relative to the preceding event, so it is not automatically a timestamp in seconds.

Generate a custom text layout with Python

Use the maintained mido package when the destination requires selected tracks, note names, lyrics, or a specific one-event-per-line layout.

python -m pip install mido
python midi_dump.py song.mid song.txt

Save the following as midi_dump.py:

import sys
import mido

source, destination = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2]
mid = mido.MidiFile(source)
with open(destination, "w", encoding="utf-8") as out:
    out.write(f"type={mid.type} ticks_per_beat={mid.ticks_per_beat}\n")
    for track_number, track in enumerate(mid.tracks):
        absolute_tick = 0
        out.write(f"track={track_number}\n")
        for message in track:
            absolute_tick += message.time
            out.write(f"{absolute_tick}\t{message}\n")

This script records each track, cumulative tick position, and decoded message in UTF-8 text. It does not calculate elapsed seconds; that requires processing tempo events and the file's timing division.

Use a notation program for readable musical data

When the destination needs readable notes, lyrics, or notation rather than raw events, import the file into MuseScore or another notation editor through File → Open, then copy the required information into a text editor. This is not an exact event dump: import settings may quantize rhythms, merge voices, omit unsupported controller data, or reinterpret the performance as notation.

Compatibility and quality limits

There is no official universal definition of “MIDI in TXT format.” Confirm whether the receiving system expects MIDIcsv-style rows, CSV with a particular schema, note names, lyrics, or proprietary syntax. A correctly converted text file can still be rejected if its layout is wrong.

A text export cannot preserve the sound of a particular synthesizer, sampler, plug-in, effects chain, or hardware device. Even a detailed event dump does not reproduce audio unless the same instruments and playback settings are available. Use UTF-8 when lyrics, track names, or metadata contain non-ASCII characters.

Generic online converters frequently support MIDI-to-audio or MIDI-to-notation conversion but do not document a structured MIDI-event TXT output. Use MIDIcsv or a local Python script for confidential files and predictable results. If a reputable online service explicitly lists MIDI-to-TXT or MIDI-to-CSV support, test its schema with a copy first; do not assume that a file merely named .txt contains usable MIDI event data.