To convert an orchestral arrangement to MIDI, upload the recording to Songscription and choose Multi-Instrument. It listens to the full mix once and writes the strings, brass and woodwinds, plus any keys, harp, bass, synths or drums, as separate parts, then gives you one multitrack MIDI file with a track for each. Drag it into your DAW, load a library on each track, and you start your mockup with the whole arrangement in place.
One thing to know up front: Multi-Instrument writes the orchestra by instrument family, not section by section. It will not hand you first violins, second violins and violas as separate tracks, and it is not a symphonic score engine. For producers and composers that is usually exactly the right starting point, because splitting a family track into sections in your DAW takes minutes, while playing every line in by ear takes days.
Can you convert an orchestral recording to MIDI?
Yes, and it works best on arrangements: pop-orchestral tracks, film and game cues, chamber pieces and songs with a string or horn section. Songscription's Multi-Instrument separates the mix into instrument families and returns them as separate MIDI tracks and a multi-staff score. A dense full-symphony tutti is the hardest case, where it gives you a fast family sketch to refine rather than a finished transcription.
The recognized families cover what most arrangements use. Strings include violin, viola, cello, contrabass, harp, timpani and string ensemble. Brass covers trumpet, trombone, tuba and French horn. Woodwinds and reeds cover flute, piccolo, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon and the saxophones. Keys, guitars, bass, synths, voice and drums are recognized alongside them.
What lands in your DAW?
You get one standard MIDI file with each instrument part Multi-Instrument hears on its own track, plus the same transcription as a multi-staff score. That means one track for the strings, one for the brass, one for the woodwinds and one for each rhythm-section instrument, so you can load a different library on each straight away. The audio to multitrack MIDI page shows the output.
| Family | What Multi-Instrument recognizes | What you do in the DAW |
|---|---|---|
| Strings | Violin, viola, cello, contrabass, harp, timpani, string ensemble | Split by range into violins, violas, cellos and basses; add articulations |
| Brass | Trumpet, trombone, tuba, French horn | Split horns from trumpets and low brass; shape dynamics with CC |
| Woodwinds and reeds | Flute, piccolo, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, saxophones | Assign solo patches; check doublings at the octave |
| Keys, bass, synths, drums | Piano, organ, tuned percussion, upright and electric bass, synth lead and pad, drum kit | Load patches and kits as you would for any band track |
What does family-level transcription mean?
Family-level transcription means the strings come back as string parts, the brass as brass parts and the woodwinds as woodwind parts, rather than one track for each desk of a full orchestra. It does not separate first from second violins or give each horn player a track. It tells you what the strings, brass and winds are playing, and you assign sections from there.
That is honest, and it is also how many composers already work: they sketch by family, then orchestrate. The family tracks give you the harmony, the voicings and the lines in the right registers. Distributing them across sections is a creative decision, and you will often want to do it differently from the original anyway.
Which music works best?
Multi-Instrument works best when each family has some space in the mix. Pop songs with strings and horns, film and game cues, trailer music, chamber ensembles and string quartets all suit it. The more instruments overlap in the same range at the same time, the more cleanup to expect, which is why a full symphonic tutti is the hardest case.
For a big symphonic recording, use Multi-Instrument to get the family sketch fast, then rerun the lines that matter in single-instrument mode. That combination gets you further, faster, than any other route from audio. Our guide to AI transcription for film scoring covers more of the composer's side.
How do you build an orchestral mockup from the MIDI?
Transcribe, rerun the key lines, import, assign libraries, split families into sections, then add articulations and expression. The steps below take you from a recording to a playable mockup, and the general DAW import is covered in how to recreate a song in your DAW.
Step 1: Transcribe and check the sketch
Upload an audio file (MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC or M4A), a video, or a YouTube link, choose Multi-Instrument, and play the result back against the recording at a slower speed. Fix obvious problems in the editor or the piano roll first: a bass line in the wrong octave, a melody note that drifted into the wrong family, a missing chord tone. Fixes here carry into the score-derived MIDI.
Step 2: Rerun the key lines on their own
Pick the lines your mockup depends on, often the main melody and the bass, and rerun them in single-instrument mode with violin, flute, trumpet, saxophone or double bass. The model listens only for that instrument and ignores the rest of the mix, so you get a cleaner line than the one-pass track. Swap it in on its own MIDI track. Every single instrument except piano is in beta.
Step 3: Choose score MIDI or raw MIDI
Download raw transcription MIDI when you want the performance's free timing and velocities, which suits rubato cues and expressive string lines. Download score-derived MIDI when you want grid-aligned parts that match the written score and include your edits. Many composers use raw MIDI for exposed lines and score MIDI for pads and ostinatos.
Step 4: Import and assign libraries
Drag the MIDI file into Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio or GarageBand, set the session tempo, and load a library on each track: a string ensemble patch on the strings, brass on the brass, solo woodwinds on the winds. At this stage use full-section patches; they let you hear the whole arrangement before you start splitting tracks.
Step 5: Split family tracks into sections
Duplicate the strings track once for each section you want, then delete the notes outside each section's range: violins on top, violas and cellos in the middle, basses below. Some DAWs can split a region by pitch for you. Do the same for brass, separating trumpets, horns and low brass. Watch the playable ranges, since a sample library will play notes the real instrument cannot.
Step 6: Add articulations, keyswitches and CC
Transcribed MIDI gives you notes and velocities, not library-specific performance data. Add keyswitches or articulation sets for legato, staccato and pizzicato, then draw CC1 (modulation) for dynamic crossfades and CC11 (expression) for phrasing. This is the step that turns a sketch into a convincing mockup, and it is the one no transcriber can do for your particular libraries.
Which music to MIDI converter handles orchestral arrangements?
Songscription is the converter built for this job, because Multi-Instrument returns separate tracks by instrument family plus an editor and a score. Most audio-to-MIDI tools return one MIDI file with every note on it, which leaves you sorting strings from brass by hand. See our best multi-instrument transcription software roundup for the full comparison.
Spotify's Basic Pitch is a free, open-source converter that handles polyphonic audio but outputs MIDI without instrument separation. Stem splitters like Moises and Demucs separate audio, not notes, so you would still need to transcribe each stem. Klangio offers a DAW plugin and a public API, which matter if you need transcription inside your DAW or in code. For family-separated MIDI from a single upload, Songscription is the one to start with.
Can you get a printed score as well as MIDI?
Yes. The same transcription is a multi-staff score you can download as PDF or MusicXML. Open the MusicXML in MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale or Dorico to keep orchestrating on paper, split families into sections, and print parts for live players. That is useful when a mockup becomes a session with real musicians, since your MIDI and your score start from the same transcription.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert a complex arrangement with strings, brass and woodwinds into MIDI for my DAW?
Upload the recording to Songscription and choose Multi-Instrument. It writes the strings, brass, woodwinds and any keys, bass, synths or drums as separate parts and returns one MIDI file with a track for each, ready to drag into Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio or GarageBand. Load a library on each track, then split and shape the parts in your DAW.
Which music to MIDI converter handles orchestral arrangements?
Songscription is the best fit for arrangements, because Multi-Instrument separates the mix into instrument families on their own MIDI tracks instead of returning one tangle of notes. Free converters like Basic Pitch output a single MIDI file with no instrument separation, and stem splitters give you audio rather than notes. Songscription gives you the notes, organized by family, plus an editor and a score.
Can I transcribe a full symphony recording to MIDI?
You can get a fast family-level sketch of it. Multi-Instrument writes strings, brass and woodwinds as families rather than separating first and second violins or each desk, and dense symphonic tutti passages need more cleanup. For a big symphonic recording, use it to get the sketch, then rerun the key lines in single-instrument violin, flute or trumpet mode and refine.
Will the MIDI keep the dynamics and timing of the performance?
The raw transcription MIDI keeps the free timing and the note velocities of the performance, so rubato and accents survive. The score-derived MIDI follows the written score and includes your editor fixes. Neither file writes expression or modulation curves for your libraries, so you add CC1, CC11 and articulation keyswitches yourself during the mockup.
Can I try orchestral audio to MIDI for free?
Yes. Songscription's free tier transcribes 30-second clips, which is enough to test Multi-Instrument on the densest passage of your cue. Upload the clip or paste a YouTube link. A 14-day free trial with no card covers full-length pieces, and Plus allows up to 15 minutes per transcription.
Final Thoughts
The slow part of an orchestral mockup has never been choosing libraries. It is getting the notes: which line the strings carry, where the horns sit, what the woodwinds double. Songscription's Multi-Instrument hands you that in one pass, family by family, as MIDI you can drop straight into a session. Splitting sections, choosing articulations and drawing expression are the parts that make a mockup yours, and now they are the only parts left to do.
Be clear-eyed about the material: arrangements, cues and chamber music come back quickly and usefully, while a dense symphonic tutti gives you a sketch to refine. Either way, you start with the arrangement on the screen instead of an empty session. Try it on your densest 30 seconds: convert your arrangement with Multi-Instrument.
