Updated
How to convert audio to MIDI in Ableton Live
Ableton Live has audio to MIDI built in, with three conversion modes for three kinds of material, plus a fourth command that slices audio onto a Drum Rack. This guide explains which to use, how to prepare a clip so the result needs less fixing, and how to handle a full song.
The short answer
Select the audio clip, then right-click it (or open the Create menu) and choose Convert Harmony, Convert Melody or Convert Drums to New MIDI Track. Audio to MIDI is in Live Standard and Suite, not Intro.
Which mode to use
All three commands are in the Create menu and in the clip's right-click menu once an audio clip is selected. Each one creates a new MIDI track with an instrument already loaded, so you can hear the result straight away.
- Convert Melody to New MIDI Track: for monophonic audio, one note at a time, such as a voice, whistling or a solo instrument. It loads a synth with a "Synth to Piano" macro.
- Convert Harmony to New MIDI Track: for polyphonic audio such as piano or guitar chords. It loads a piano sound. On a single line it tends to add extra notes, so use Melody there.
- Convert Drums to New MIDI Track: for unpitched, percussive audio such as breakbeats or beatboxing. It looks for kick, snare and hi-hat and loads a Drum Rack. It works best on drums without other instruments.
- Slice to New MIDI Track: not a transcription. It cuts the audio at transients or beats onto the pads of a Drum Rack (up to 128 slices), so you can replay the original sound from MIDI.
Step by step
- 1
Put the audio on an audio track and select the clip, in Session or Arrangement view.
- 2
Optional but worth it: open the clip, check the transient markers, and add, move or delete any that are wrong. The conversion uses them to decide where notes start.
- 3
Right-click the clip (or open the Create menu) and choose the Convert command for your material.
- 4
Live analyses the audio and creates a new MIDI track with the notes and an instrument.
- 5
Play the new track against the original and fix the notes. For melodies, delete short fragments; for drums, check that each hit landed on the right pad.
Getting a cleaner conversion
Ableton's manual gives the same advice any transcription tool would:
- Use material with clear attacks. Notes that swell or fade in can be missed.
- Use isolated instruments rather than a full mix.
- Use uncompressed WAV or AIFF where you can. MP3 works, but results are less predictable unless the bitrate is high.
Converting a full song: separate the stems first
The Convert commands hear everything in the clip, so a full mix gives poor MIDI. Live 12 Suite can split a clip first: right-click it and choose Separate Stems to New Audio Tracks to get vocals, drums, bass and others in a new group track. A High Quality mode takes longer and sounds cleaner than High Speed. Stem separation is in Suite only.
Then convert each stem with the right mode: Melody for the vocal or bass, Drums for the drum stem, Harmony for the others. Expect some cleanup: separation leaves a little bleed (a hi-hat in the others stem, for example), and the drum mode only sorts hits into kick, snare and hi-hat.
Where Live runs out, and what to do instead
Live's conversion is quick and stays in your Set, which makes it great for a melody you just recorded or a clean break. For a whole song it means several separations and conversions, three drum classes for a full kit, and no tempo map of a song you did not record to Live's grid (you warp it first).
The audio to MIDI converter does the whole song in one pass: separation, a transcription method per instrument (nine drum kit pieces on General MIDI notes, polyphonic piano and guitar), a detected tempo map and one multi-track .mid file. Drag it into the Arrangement and each instrument arrives on its own track. The drums to MIDI and song to MIDI pages explain the details.
Sources
Menu names and edition limits were checked against the vendor's own documentation on 19 October 2026.