Garageband to Ocarina Sheet Music Instructions (Also known as "How to convert MP3 to MIDI") For Mac OS X

After much digging around on the web trying to find a way to convert MP3 to MIDI and having my brains leak out my ears, I finally have a working solution. This is the super-simplified step-by-step on how to do it so you can convert your Garageband melodies into something you can play on your new iPhone Ocarina app (http://ocarina.smule.com/). Some of the stuff isn't free, but the demo set will get you through at least 1 melody for free.

This works for a single simple melody. MP3 to MIDI. WAV to MIDI.

  1. In GarageBand, create your MP3 (Share, export song to disk).
  2. Convert your MP3 to WAV (I used Adobe Soundbooth - simple open / save as).
  3. Get and install: Audio To MIDI AU 1.21 Universal Binary from http://www.widisoft.com/english/download.html
  4. Get and install: Bidule 0.9677 Mac OS X (Universal Binary) from http://www.plogue.com/?option=com_remository&Itemid=0&func=selectcat&cat=1
  5. Open Plogue Bidule. Read steps 1-8. (You can escape with only reading 1-4).
  6. Use right-click on the patchbay (you read that was the grey area in step 2) to add these 4 things:
    1. Building Blocks - Audio File - Basic Audio File Player (there is probably a way to read the mp3 directly, but I couldn't find it in the time I had.)
    2. AU Effects - WIDI - Audio To Midi AU - 02 ins 02 outs
    3. Mixing - Stereo Mixer 08
    4. Audio Devices - Output - [select one]
  7. Connect these bidules (how-to in step 2), in that order (player to MIDI AU to Mixer to (out). Use the leftmost 2 mixer ins and outs.
  8. Double-click the player bidule. Click the open button (looks like an eject button) and select your wav file. Set it in loop mode. Click the play button. You should hear sound.
  9. Double-click the Audio To MIDI AU_0. Click the red spot to record. Click the square to stop. Click the save. (You can start the record before doing the play if you want a clean start/stop in your MIDI.)

THIS GIVES YOU THE MIDI FILE. The rest of this is Ocarina instructions ( http://ocarina.smule.com )

  1. Use: http://www.thegoodblogs.com/ocarina.php
    See: http://ocarina.smule.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=680&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=midi+to+score for discussion

DISCLAIMER: Anything you do or don't do is your own responsibility. All the software mentioned and/or linked to on this page is owned by its creators.

Change History:
2008-12-2: Created.