# Audio to Sheet Music

Transcribe a music performance into engraved sheet music: Basic Pitch note detection, grid quantization, Krumhansl–Schmuckler key finding, then MusicXML and ABC notation (plus optional MIDI) in one ZIP.

> Canonical page: https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/audio-to-sheet-music

- **Category:** Media

- **Keywords:** sheet music, audio to sheet music, transcription, musicxml, abc notation, basic pitch, note detection, key detection, krumhansl, score, notation, audio to notes, midi

## Overview

An automatic-transcription draft you can open in any notation editor. Spotify's Basic Pitch model turns the audio into note events; onsets and durations are snapped to a sixteenth- or eighth-note grid at the detected or supplied tempo. The key signature comes from Krumhansl–Schmuckler correlation: a duration-weighted pitch-class histogram is matched against all 24 rotated Krumhansl–Kessler profiles, and the best Pearson correlation picks the key (with confidence). The engraver then writes real notation: divisions of 24 per quarter, barlines from your time signature, chords when simultaneous notes share a span, dotted durations, ties across barlines, accidentals spelled against the key signature (sharps or flats), and an F clef for bass transcriptions. You get MusicXML 4.0 — the format MuseScore, Sibelius, Dorico and Finale open directly — plus an ABC text score, and optionally a quantized MIDI file. Transcribe the full mix, or isolate vocals / bass / other instruments first with the local HT-Demucs model for a cleaner single line. Automatic transcription is a starting point: expect rhythm simplifications on expressive performances, and clean up ornaments and articulations in your editor.

## Inputs

- **Music performance** (file)
- **Transcription source** (select)
- **Time signature** (select)
- **Tempo (BPM, 0 = auto)** (number)
- **Quantize grid** (select)
- **Max simultaneous voices** (number)
- **Include MIDI export** (checkbox)

## When to use

- Transcribing a recorded vocal line, bass riff, or instrumental solo into standard musical notation.
- Converting audio ideas and live rehearsals into initial MusicXML or ABC drafts for score editing.
- Extracting specific instrument stems and generating quantized MIDI along with engraved sheet music.

## How it works

- Upload an audio file and choose whether to process the full mix or isolate vocals, bass, or instruments using HT-Demucs.
- Set the target time signature, grid quantization (sixteenth or eighth notes), tempo (or auto-detect), and maximum polyphony.
- The tool runs Basic Pitch for pitch tracking and Krumhansl–Schmuckler correlation for key signature estimation.
- Download a ZIP package containing the generated MusicXML 4.0 file, ABC score, transcription report, and optional MIDI.

## Use cases

- Songwriters converting voice memo melody drafts into lead sheets.
- Music educators and students generating initial transcription drafts from acoustic instrument solos.
- Bassists and instrumentalists isolating stems to produce readable standard notation and bass clef parts.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which notation programs can open the output files?

The resulting MusicXML 4.0 file can be opened directly in MuseScore, Sibelius, Dorico, Finale, and any modern score editor supporting MusicXML.

### Can I transcribe individual instruments from a full song mix?

Yes, you can select the Demucs source options to isolate vocals, bass, or other melodic instruments before transcription begins.

### How does key detection work?

It builds a duration-weighted pitch-class histogram and matches it against 24 Krumhansl–Kessler key profiles to pick the best-correlated key signature.

### What grid quantization settings are supported?

You can quantize note onsets and durations to either sixteenth-note or eighth-note intervals based on your selected tempo.

### Does the export include MIDI files?

Yes, checking the MIDI export option includes a quantized MIDI file in the downloaded ZIP archive.

## Related tools

- [DJ Cue Point Detector](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/audio-dj-cue-point-detector): Detect mix-in, drop, breakdown, and mix-out cue points in a music track and export them for Traktor, rekordbox, and CD burners.
- [SVG Sprite Sheet Generator](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/svg-sprite-generator): Merge up to 30 SVG icons into one sprite sheet (symbol or view mode) with viewBox normalization, dedup, optional currentColor stripping, sanitization, live preview and usage snippets.
- [SVG Favicon Generator](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/svg-favicon-generator): Turn an SVG or raster logo into a complete favicon pack with ICO, PNG variants, Apple touch icon, and web manifest
- [Audio Automatic Fade Designer](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/audio-automatic-fade-designer): Design and render musical fade-ins and fade-outs: bar-based lengths at your BPM or lengths auto-derived from detected silence, fades placed against the real music span, logarithmic curves, optional silence trimming.
- [Audio Breath Control Editor](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/audio-breath-control-editor): Detect breaths in speech and naturally crossfade to reduce, remove, or keep them.
- [Drum Loop Slicer](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/audio-drum-loop-slicer): Detect drum-hit transients in an audio loop, slice it into individual hits, and export them as a ZIP with timing and optional MIDI.
- [Audio Fade In](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/audio-fade-in): Apply a fade-in effect to the beginning of the audio
- [Audio Fade In and Out](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/audio-fade-in-and-out): Apply both fade-in and fade-out effects to an audio file

## Samples

- [Copyright-Free FLAC Audio Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/flac-samples): Lossless FLAC audio samples for testing and development, mirrored from MP3 set with nature sounds and meditation music
- [Copyright-Free MP3 Audio Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/mp3-samples): Collection of royalty-free audio samples for testing and development purposes including nature sounds, meditation music, and ambient audio
- [Copyright-Free WAV Audio Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/wav-samples): Uncompressed PCM WAV audio samples for testing and development, mirrored from MP3 set with nature sounds and meditation music
- [Copyright-Free Raw PCM Audio Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/pcm-samples): Raw PCM s16le audio samples featuring nature ambience and relaxing music for waveform, playback, and conversion workflows