Songscription exports every transcription as a PDF, a MIDI file, and a MusicXML file. When you transcribe a fretted instrument like guitar, it adds a Guitar Pro file and a tablature PDF. Those formats come out of a single transcription, so you read the audio once and take it wherever you need: a printout, a notation program, or a DAW session.
The formats are not interchangeable, though, and picking the wrong one wastes time. A PDF cannot be edited as notes; a MIDI file carries no real layout. This page lays out exactly what each format is, what it is good for, and where it falls short, with a comparison table you can scan in ten seconds.
Every Format at a Glance
Here is every format Songscription exports, what it holds, and the job it is built for.
| Format | What it holds | Best for | Editable as notes? | Available for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A fixed image of the finished score | Printing and reading | No | Every transcription | |
| MIDI | Raw note data: pitch, timing, velocity | DAWs and playback | Yes, as data | Every transcription |
| MusicXML | The full notation: notes, rhythm, layout | Notation software | Yes, as notation | Every transcription |
| Guitar Pro and tab PDF | Notation and tablature, in sync | Guitar and bass players | Yes, in Guitar Pro | Fretted instruments |
Our older overview of music export formats walks through the same set in prose. The sections below go one format at a time.
PDF: A Score You Can Print
A PDF is a fixed image of the score. Everything about the layout, the line breaks, the spacing, the page turns, is locked in place, and it opens on any device with no music software at all. That is exactly what you want when the score is final and you are heading to a printer or a music stand. The trade-off is the flip side of the same coin: you cannot reflow it or edit the notes. If you might still change something, export MusicXML, edit there, and print your own PDF from the result. Our guide to exporting piano sheet music to PDF covers the print workflow in detail.
MIDI: Editable Notes for Any DAW
A MIDI file is a record of the notes themselves: which pitch, when it starts, how long it lasts, how hard it was struck. It carries no sound and no page layout, just the performance data. Drop it onto a track in a DAW like Logic, Ableton, or FL Studio and you can swap the instrument sound, fix a timing, or transpose, all as editable note data. MIDI is the right call for production work and for anything you plan to play back through software. If audio-to-MIDI is new to you, start with our audio to MIDI guide, or jump straight to audio to MIDI.
MusicXML: For Notation Software
MusicXML is how notation programs share files. It preserves the actual notation, not just the timing: the notes, rhythms, clefs, key signature, and layout intent. MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico all read and write it, and Logic Pro's Score Editor reads it too. Choose MusicXML when you want to keep working on the engraving, re-lay it out, or fold the part into a larger score. It is the difference between handing someone a photograph of a page and handing them the editable document. For how the format relates to MIDI, see MusicXML vs MIDI, and to open the file once you have it, our guide to opening MusicXML in MuseScore, Sibelius, and Finale.
Guitar Pro and Tab: For Fretted Instruments
When you transcribe a fretted instrument, two more outputs appear. A Guitar Pro file displays standard notation and tablature in the same document, kept in sync, and specifies the string and fret for each note, which is exactly how guitarists and bassists prefer to read. A tab PDF gives you the same tablature as a print-ready page. These are there alongside PDF, MIDI, and MusicXML when the transcription is a guitar or bass part. Our guide to turning audio into guitar tabs covers the workflow, and you can start one at the guitar tab generator.
Which One Should You Choose?
The quick rule: print from PDF, produce from MIDI, edit notation in MusicXML, and play fretted parts from Guitar Pro. Because every transcription gives you the core three at once, you rarely have to pick just one. Export the PDF to practice today and the MusicXML to refine later, with no re-transcribing. For a closer decision between the three you get on every job, see our breakdown of MusicXML vs MIDI vs PDF, and when your destination is a specific program, our guide to importing Songscription files into MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, and Logic. You can produce all of these from any recording with audio to sheet music.
Frequently Asked Questions
What formats can Songscription export?
Every Songscription transcription exports as a PDF, a MIDI file, and a MusicXML file. When you transcribe a fretted instrument like guitar, you also get a Guitar Pro file and a tablature PDF. PDF is the print-ready score, MIDI is editable note data for a DAW, MusicXML is the notation file that opens in MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico, and Guitar Pro carries standard notation and tab together.
Does Songscription export MusicXML?
Yes. MusicXML comes out of any transcription, and it is the format to choose when you want to keep editing the notation in another program. MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico all read and write MusicXML, and Logic Pro's Score Editor reads it too. It preserves the actual notation, the notes, rhythms, clefs, and layout intent, rather than just the raw note timing the way MIDI does.
Can I open a Songscription file in MuseScore?
Yes. Export the transcription as MusicXML and open it in MuseScore, where it lands as a fully editable score you can re-engrave, re-lay out, and print. MusicXML is the shared language notation programs use to exchange files, so the same export also opens in Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico. MIDI is the alternative if you want the notes as raw data rather than formatted notation.
Which export format is best for printing?
PDF. A PDF is a fixed image of the finished score with every detail of the layout locked in place, so it prints exactly as it looks and needs no music software to open. Choose MusicXML instead if you want to adjust the layout or edit the notation before you print, then export your own PDF from there.
