Part of our roundup of the best sheet music scanner apps.
The short answer:
- Best overall: Songscription. AnnieScan, our own scanning model, reads a PDF or phone photos into a score you check and fix in the editor, then you export MIDI. AnnieScan Studio also reads handwriting, chord symbols, lyrics and tabs.
- Already have MusicXML? Skip the scan: convert the MusicXML to MIDI directly.
- The rest: PlayScore 2 keeps PDFs and multi-page scans for subscribers, ScanScore and SmartScore are desktop installs, Audiveris exports MusicXML but not MIDI, and Opuscan reads no handwriting or tab.
Songscription is our product. We put it first where it’s the right tool, and we say plainly where another tool fits better.
How sheet music becomes MIDI
A PDF or photo of sheet music is a picture. To get MIDI, a program first reads the page with optical music recognition, which turns the symbols into notes; our explainer on what optical music recognition is covers it. Then those notes are written out as MIDI: pitch, timing, length and loudness, ready for a DAW or a keyboard.
Every scanner misreads some symbols, so the step that matters most is the one in between: hearing the score and fixing it before you export. MIDI made from a wrong note is a wrong note on your track.
The comparison
| Tool | Reads | Fix before export | Exports MIDI | Runs on | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Songscription (AnnieScan) | PDF and photos, up to 50 pages; Studio reads handwriting, chord symbols, lyrics, tabs | Yes, a full scorewriter, or ask Annie | Yes, plus MusicXML, PDF, Guitar Pro | Any browser | Downloads on Plus and Pro |
| PlayScore 2 | Camera; PDFs and multi-page with a subscription | Not described | Yes | Separate iOS, Android and Windows apps | MusicXML on Professional only |
| ScanScore 3 | PDF and images | Correction editor | Yes | Mac and Windows | Cheapest edition reads one staff per system |
| SmartScore 64 | Scanned pages and PDFs | Yes | Yes | Windows and Mac | Desktop editions from $49 to $399 |
| Audiveris | Printed scores only | Correction editor | Not listed; MusicXML only | Windows, Mac, Linux install | You need a second app for MIDI |
| Opuscan | Printed music and PDFs | Not described | Yes | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | Pay per page; no handwriting or tab; needs internet |
| MuseScore Studio Convert | PDF and images | Yes, in MuseScore | Yes | Desktop plus a MuseScore.com account | Results saved to your MuseScore.com account |
Songscription and AnnieScan
- Upload a PDF of up to 50 pages, or photograph each page with your phone or webcam. Songscription finds the edges and straightens each page, and you set the order.
- Pick the model. AnnieScan Mini is fast on clean print, one page in 1 to 3 minutes. AnnieScan Studio, our most accurate model, also reads handwritten scores, chord symbols, lyrics and tabs.
- Check it in the editor. The scan opens in the score editor we built. Play it back against the page and fix any note, or ask Annie, the AI score assistant, to change the key or time signature, add repeats or transpose it. Every change she makes is highlighted and undoable in one step.
- Export MIDI, plus MusicXML, PDF and Guitar Pro (Plus and Pro).
Free accounts scan a page a day with Mini. On Plus and Pro you pay in credits by the page, see the price before the scan starts, and pay only for the pages you get back. Our guide to importing MIDI into a DAW covers the next step.
PlayScore 2
A scan-and-play app. The free version plays camera pages; whole PDFs and multi-page scores need a subscription, MusicXML needs the Professional plan, and each platform is a separate app with its own purchase.
ScanScore 3
Desktop OMR for Mac and Windows with a correction editor, on one-year licences. The cheapest edition reads only one staff per system, and there’s no phone or browser version.
SmartScore 64
A long-running desktop scanner for Windows and Mac, sold in editions from $49 for the MIDI-only edition to $399 for Professional. Its pages don’t mention handwriting.
Audiveris
Free and open source, for Windows, Mac and Linux. Its handbook says handwritten scores aren’t supported and accuracy is “still far from perfection,” and it exports MusicXML, not MIDI, so you open the result in another app to get a MIDI file.
Opuscan
A scanner app for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, paid by the page with no free page allowance listed. Its App Store listing says handwritten music and tablature aren’t supported, and it needs an internet connection.
MuseScore Studio Convert
MuseScore Studio 4.7.6 converts PDFs and images, then exports MIDI like any MuseScore score. It needs a free MuseScore.com account and saves every result there. Our guide to converting a PDF to MuseScore walks through it.
How to choose
- A PDF or photos to MIDI, checked and fixed first: Songscription.
- Handwritten parts, lead sheets with chords, or tab: Songscription with AnnieScan Studio.
- A MusicXML file to MIDI: Songscription’s sheet music to MIDI converter, no scan needed.
- A recording, not a page: Songscription turns the audio into MIDI instead.
How we compared
We checked each tool’s own pages and store listings in November 2026. We haven’t run an accuracy benchmark across scanners, so this roundup compares what each reads, whether you can fix the result, and what MIDI costs.
Sources:
- PlayScore FAQ
- ScanScore
- SmartScore by Musitek
- Audiveris handbook
- Opuscan
- MuseScore handbook, Convert a file
Frequently asked questions
What is the best software to convert sheet music to MIDI?
Songscription. AnnieScan, our own scanning model, reads a PDF or phone photos, up to 50 pages in one scan, into a score that opens in Songscription’s score editor, where you play it back and fix any note before you export MIDI. AnnieScan Studio also reads handwriting, chord symbols, lyrics and tabs. It runs in the browser, and MIDI, MusicXML, PDF and Guitar Pro downloads come with Plus and Pro.
Can I convert a PDF of sheet music to MIDI for free?
Songscription scans 1 page a day free with AnnieScan Mini and opens it in the browser to play and edit; MIDI downloads come with Plus and Pro. Audiveris is free and open source but exports MusicXML, not MIDI, so you need a second app. MuseScore Studio’s Convert is free with a MuseScore.com account and usage limits.
How do I convert a MusicXML file to MIDI?
Upload the MusicXML file to Songscription’s sheet music to MIDI converter. It opens as a score you can hear and edit, and you export MIDI from it. There’s nothing to scan, because MusicXML already holds the notes.
Why convert sheet music to MIDI instead of MusicXML?
MIDI is for a DAW or a MIDI instrument, where you want the notes as a track to play, arrange or re-voice. MusicXML is for notation apps, where you want to keep editing the score. Songscription exports both from the same scan.
Can a sheet music to MIDI converter read handwriting?
Songscription’s AnnieScan Studio reads handwritten scores. Audiveris and Opuscan say handwriting isn’t supported, and most other scanners describe printed music only.
