Updated
How to convert audio to MIDI in FL Studio
FL Studio has two built-in ways to turn audio into notes: NewTone, the pitch editor, and an analysis tool in Edison. Since FL Studio 21.2 it can also split a sample into stems first. This guide walks through each, with the exact menu names and which edition you need.
The short answer
Load the audio in NewTone, check the detected notes, then choose Edit > Send to piano roll. Without NewTone, open the sample in Edison and choose Tools > Analysis > Convert to score and dump to piano roll.
Which edition has what
The tools below are not in every edition, so check yours first. Image-Line's edition comparison lists NewTone from the Signature Bundle up; the NewTone page of the manual says it is included with the All Plugins Edition or sold separately, so check your own plug-in list if you are unsure. Edison and stem separation are in Producer Edition and up.
Method 1: NewTone, for melodies and vocals
NewTone detects the notes in a sample, lets you correct them, and sends them to the Piano roll as MIDI. It is best on a single voice or instrument.
- 1
Open the audio in NewTone: from the Playlist, open the audio clip's menu and choose Pitch correct sample, or open NewTone and use File > Load sample (Ctrl+O).
- 2
Stay in Pitch mode. NewTone detects the notes automatically and shows them as blobs over the waveform.
- 3
Correct what is wrong: join a note that was split in two, cut one that should be two, and delete stray fragments from breaths or noise.
- 4
Select the Channel and Pattern you want the notes in, then choose Edit > Send to piano roll. The Create Score button in the title bar does the same with a left-click.
- 5
Prefer a file? Use File > Save as MIDI, or Edit > Copy to MIDI clipboard and paste it into any Piano roll.
Method 2: Edison, if you do not have NewTone
Edison, FL Studio's audio editor, can slice a sample, detect the pitch of each slice, and write the notes to the Piano roll. It is quicker and rougher than NewTone, with no step to correct the notes first.
- 1
Open the clip in Edison: from the Playlist, open the audio clip's menu and choose Edit sample.
- 2
Select the Channel whose Piano roll should receive the notes.
- 3
In Edison, choose Tools > Analysis > Convert to score and dump to piano roll.
- 4
Open the Piano roll of that Channel and clean up the notes by hand.
Converting a full song: extract the stems first
NewTone and Edison hear everything in the sample at once, so a full mix gives a tangle of notes. FL Studio can split a sample into up to four stems first: drums, bass, instruments and vocals.
- 1
On the Playlist, open the Clip Menu in the top-left corner of the audio clip and choose Extract stems from sample.
- 2
Pick the stems you want. Each one lands on its own Playlist track under the original.
- 3
Run NewTone on the bass or vocal stem. The instruments stem still holds every chord instrument together, so expect to clean it up.
- Separation can take a few minutes, and the manual warns that FL Studio is unresponsive while it runs.
- Results depend on the source audio: a dense mix leaves more bleed between stems.
Where FL Studio runs out, and what to do instead
For a single line, NewTone is precise and stays inside your project. It gets slow when there is more than one line: chords, a full drum kit (neither tool sorts hits into kick, snare and hats), or a whole song where every stem is its own conversion and clean-up, all at a tempo you have to work out yourself.
The audio to MIDI converter does that in one pass in the browser: it separates the song, transcribes each instrument (chords included, and nine drum kit pieces mapped to General MIDI), detects the tempo and exports one .mid file. Drag it into FL Studio (or use File > Import > MIDI file) and each instrument arrives on its own channel. The drums to MIDI and vocals to MIDI pages go into the details for those parts.
Sources
Menu names and edition limits were checked against the vendor's own documentation on 19 October 2026.