Free online WMA to XML converter

Music notation software may require MusicXML when a composition is stored as a WMA recording, but WMA contains sound rather than notes. Converting it therefore requires audio transcription: the recording is analyzed, turned into MIDI or notation, and then exported as XML.

What the WMA format is

WMA (Windows Media Audio) is a compressed audio format developed by Microsoft. Windows Media Player, older versions of Windows Sound Recorder, and some music stores and recording applications created WMA files. In music composition, a WMA file normally contains a rendered performance, rehearsal recording, or reference track; it does not contain editable measures, pitches, durations, voices, or notation symbols.

What the XML format is

For composition software, “XML” usually means MusicXML, an XML-based interchange format for scores. MusicXML stores notes, rests, rhythms, key and time signatures, articulations, lyrics, instruments, and staff layout so programs such as MuseScore, Sibelius, and Finale can exchange notation.

MusicXML is useful when a score must be edited, archived, or moved between notation applications. It is not an audio format and cannot preserve the exact sound of a WMA recording. A generic XML document containing file metadata is a different result from a MusicXML score.

How to convert WMA to XML

For a playable recording that must become a score

1. Convert the WMA file to an uncompressed format that transcription software accepts. FFmpeg can create a WAV file with:
   ffmpeg -i recording.wma -c:a pcm_s16le -ar 44100 recording.wav
2. Run audio-to-MIDI transcription on recording.wav. Basic Pitch can estimate notes from suitable monophonic or lightly polyphonic recordings; commercial applications such as Melodyne can also detect pitches and export MIDI. Results depend on instrument separation, tempo stability, recording quality, and musical texture.
3. Open the resulting MIDI file in MuseScore using File → Open. Correct quantization, tempo, voices, enharmonic spellings, ties, rests, tuplets, and instrument assignments.
4. Export the corrected score with File → Export, select MusicXML, and save it as composition.musicxml or compressed composition.mxl.

You can try the free converter on 101convert.com without installing software, but an ordinary format converter cannot infer reliable notation from audio unless it specifically provides audio transcription. Check that its output is MusicXML rather than generic XML or an audio file with metadata.

For metadata or a custom XML record

If the intended result is only catalog data, extract the WMA title, artist, album, duration, codec, and other tags with a metadata tool and write them into an XML schema of your own. That XML will describe the recording; it will not contain notes and will not open as a musical score.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

WMA-to-MusicXML conversion is inherently lossy and interpretive. Audio transcription may misidentify notes in chords, percussion, ornamentation, legato passages, reverb, changing tempo, or overlapping instruments. A clean solo recording gives better results than a full mix, but manual correction is normally required.

Use WAV as the intermediate file to avoid adding another lossy compression stage. MusicXML versions and application imports differ, so reopen the exported file in the target notation program and verify tempo, instrument ranges, beaming, lyrics, repeats, and layout. If the source is already a written score, scanning it with optical music recognition is usually more accurate than transcribing a WMA performance.