MIDI to Score

Yes, and the difference is whether new music gets written. MIDI to Score translates what you already produced: your notes, your harmony, your form, notated as a score and parts a live ensemble can read, with the doublings, divisi, ranges, and articulations resolved for real players. Orchestration goes further. It writes material that is not in your session, whether that means a countermelody, a new inner line, or scoring a piano sketch for an ensemble that does not exist yet. In practice the two often run together: while scoring a mockup we will point out where a passage would genuinely benefit from additional orchestration, and that work goes in only with your approval.

We ask for one of two things: a complete DAW session, typically Logic Pro or Cubase, including the audio stems and a stereo reference mix, or a MIDI export delivered together with the audio stems and that same stereo reference mix. Either way, the reference mix has to match your session exactly. If we hear something in the mix that does not appear in the MIDI, we stop and ask, because a muted region or an outdated bounce is far cheaper to resolve now than during a session. Part 2 of our guide From Mockup to Manuscript explains how to export and package these files.

You receive print-ready scores and parts and a complimentary audio mockup. Editable project files (MIDI, MusicXML, and the native notation file) are included when you hold the copyright to the source material. If you do not hold the copyright, we can agree separately, for an additional fee, to deliver the editable project files you need.

The fee depends on the instruments involved, the number of MIDI tracks, the duration of the piece, how the session is quantized and organized, the density and complexity of the writing, and the requested deadline. A well-prepared session costs less time and money than a raw one, which is why we encourage composers to clean their own MIDI before sending it. Our guide From Mockup to Manuscript explains how to do it.

Yes. Our standard delivery includes an audio mockup at no charge, so you can quickly check the score before the recording or rehearsal session.

Yes, on request. MIDI cleanup means quantizing note attacks and releases, removing legato overlaps, stripping controller data and keyswitches, deleting mockup-only doubling layers, naming tracks descriptively, and putting the session into score order. Done properly, it lets the project’s time go into the score itself rather than into the data. We recommend that composers handle it themselves where they can, since you know your own material best and it saves both time and budget. Our guide From Mockup to Manuscript walks through each of these steps in detail. If you would rather not, we do the cleanup as part of the project.

No. Not the melody, not the harmony, not the form, not the emotional shape. Revoicing to fit the lineup you have booked is part of the job. Redistributing a line so it is physically playable is part of the job. Adjusting a dynamic so the balance works in a real hall is part of the job. Adding new material is not, and it happens only if you ask for it, under our orchestration service.

No. Where the writing calls for it we simplify an awkward meter or approach a sudden tempo change a few bars earlier, so the players can move into it together instead of lurching. These are notational decisions made specifically to keep everything locked to the cut while giving the ensemble something they can execute on the first take.

Yes. Lyrics are typeset under each vocal part. We handle most major languages in-house, including Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Portuguese, and Spanish. If your language is not one we cover in-house, we find and supervise a professional typesetter for it.

Yes. We prepare piano reductions for rehearsal, study, and publication, created once the score is finalized and approved. Our reductions preserve the essential harmonies and voice leading, the melodies and countermelodies, and the rhythms, dynamics, articulations, and markings a rehearsal pianist depends on.

The usual turnaround is 2–3 business days. The exact timeline depends on the instruments involved, the number of MIDI tracks, the duration of the piece, whether the MIDI cleanup is already done or still needed, and overall complexity.

Yes. Accuracy is guaranteed, and every project includes two rounds of revisions at no extra cost, covering normal adjustments of interpretation and taste as well as any genuine error measured against your source material and the agreed scope.

Send us the session or the MIDI export with your stems and reference mix, tell us the ensemble and the deadline, and we will come back with a fixed quote and a delivery date. If a recording session is already booked, get in touch before it rather than after: the earlier the conversation happens, the more of your budget ends up in the music.