WAV to MIDI drums
Drop a drum loop. Hear it on the grid, edit the hits, download the MIDI. WAV, MP3, AIFF or FLAC up to 6 minutes; for a whole song, split it first.
Click to load a WAV, MP3, AIFF or FLAC drum loop
Up to 6 minutes, 100 MB — a 2–4 bar loop is all it needs
How to convert WAV to MIDI drums in three steps
- Drop the drum audio in. Open the converter and drop a WAV, MP3, AIFF or FLAC file of drums onto the page. Put the tempo in the file name, for example
174bpmorBPM120, if you know it; otherwise the tempo is measured from the audio, and a name wins when the two disagree. - Wait about a second. The transcriber detects kick, snare, closed and open hi-hats, three toms, crash, ride and clap, quantises them to a sixteenth-note grid and shows the pattern in the step editor. A three-minute file takes a few seconds; there is no queue.
- Edit and export the MIDI. Fix any hit you disagree with, adjust velocities, extend the pattern with the drum generator if you like, then export a Standard MIDI File on the General MIDI drum map and drag it into your DAW.
Import the MIDI into your DAW
The file is a single-track Standard MIDI File on channel 10 with a tempo event, so it opens in any DAW or notation program that reads .mid: Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, GarageBand, Cubase, Reaper, Studio One, Bitwig, MuseScore. Drop it on a drum-instrument track and the notes land on these General MIDI numbers:
| Drum | GM note | Drum | GM note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | 36 | Low tom | 45 |
| Snare | 38 | Mid tom | 48 |
| Closed hi-hat | 42 | High tom | 50 |
| Open hi-hat | 46 | Crash | 49 |
| Clap | 39 | Ride | 51 |
If your kit uses a different layout, most drum instruments let you remap by note; the velocities carry over as they are. The tempo in the file matches the BPM the grid was built at, so the clip stays in time when your project runs at that tempo.
Getting the best result
- Feed it drums, not a mix. Bass and guitar transients confuse any onset detector. For a song, isolate the drums first with the free stem splitter on this site; its drum row sends the stem here with one click, trimmed to the bars you want.
- Name the file with the tempo.
174bpm_loop.wavorloop_BPM174.wav. A loop transcribed at the wrong tempo lands on the wrong grid lines even when every hit was detected. - Start the file on the downbeat. Silence or a pickup before bar one shifts the whole grid; trim it off first.
- Keep it under 16 bars for the grid. Longer files are analysed in windows; the first 16 bars are what the editor shows.
- Check the fills. Fast rolls under a sixteenth-note apart are merged onto the grid; open the grid and split them by hand if you need them.
How the model listens, bar by bar, and what it hears best is written up under the drum transcriber.
From a whole song to drum MIDI
If what you have is a mixed track rather than a drum recording, the stem splitter takes it the rest of the way: split the song into vocals, drums, bass and other, listen to the drum stem, trim it to the section you want, and press Transcribe selection. The stem arrives here as if you had dropped it yourself. No other free stem splitter finishes at drum MIDI.
Supported formats
Audio input: WAV (16-bit and 24-bit PCM), MP3, AIFF and FLAC. Mono and stereo. Sample rates from 22.05 kHz to 96 kHz; everything is resampled to 22,050 Hz mono before inference. Maximum length 6 minutes.
MIDI output: Standard MIDI File (.mid), one drum track, General MIDI percussion mapping on channel 10, velocities derived from the recording, tempo event included.
After transcription: extend the pattern with the drum generator in one of nine reference genres; Generate from this opens its controls under the grid.
Questions
Something missing? Ask us.
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What audio formats can CedarGrooveNET transcribe?
WAV, MP3, AIFF and FLAC are supported, up to 6 minutes per clip. Sample rates 22.05 kHz to 96 kHz, mono or stereo. Stereo input is downmixed to mono before transcription.
How accurate is the WAV to MIDI drums conversion?
On clean drum audio it is accurate enough to use as-is: the 11-second, 174 BPM Drum and Bass loop on this page came back as about 120 hits across 8 bars, with the kicks, snares, closed hi-hats and a tom fill in the right places and velocities that follow the recording. Accuracy drops on full mixes, distorted kits and unusual percussion, so for a song split the drums out first with the stem splitter on this site.
How long does a WAV to MIDI drums conversion take?
About a second for a loop, and a few seconds for a three-minute file. There is no queue: the file goes to our server, the transcriber runs immediately and the MIDI grid appears in your browser, ready to edit and export.
Does CedarGrooveNET need an internet connection?
The macOS app runs entirely on your machine and works offline. The browser version needs a connection: your file is transcribed on our server and the MIDI comes straight back — no queue, and your audio is never written to disk. If you are working on unreleased material and want nothing to leave your machine, use the macOS app.
What drum elements does the transcriber detect?
Kick, snare, closed hi-hat, open hi-hat, low tom, mid tom, high tom, crash, ride, and clap. Output is mapped to General MIDI drum channel 10.
Is the output MIDI quantised?
By default the MIDI is aligned to the 16-step grid (1/16 note resolution). The grid is editable after transcription so you can preserve human feel or tighten the timing per your needs.
Can it transcribe live drum recordings?
Yes, but accuracy is highest on clean drum loops without other instruments. For a full mix, isolate the drums from a song first with the free stem splitter on this site, then run that drum stem through CedarGrooveNET — the drums row has a one-click Transcribe these drums button.
How is this different from a VST or AU plugin?
There is no plugin. The browser version runs on this page and the macOS app is a standalone application: drag a WAV in, get MIDI out, then drop the file on a track in your DAW. No track routing, no buffer setup.
What is the best free drum to MIDI converter?
CedarGrooveNET is a free, browser-based drum-to-MIDI converter with nothing to install; the MIDI export is unlocked by a one-time email link. Drop a WAV, MP3, AIFF or FLAC drum loop of up to 6 minutes and it returns a Standard MIDI File on the General MIDI drum map. It is purpose-built for drums; bass, piano, guitar and vocals have their own converter on this site, Audio to MIDI, which also writes MusicXML and a score.
Does the browser version run on my computer or on a server?
The browser version sends your audio to the CedarGroove server, transcribes it there and returns the MIDI immediately. The audio is never written to disk. Only the macOS app runs entirely on your own machine and works offline.
Can it convert piano, bass or a full song to MIDI?
This tool is drums only. For bass, piano, guitar or vocals use the audio-to-MIDI converter on this site, which writes MIDI, MusicXML and a score. A full mix transcribes poorly here because the onset detector reacts to bass and other transients, so for a song split it first with the stem splitter and drop the drum stem here.