Basic Pitch
ExternalBasic Pitch by Spotify is a free, open-source audio-to-MIDI converter that excels at transcribing single-instrument recordings, including vocals, with precise pitch bend detection for elements like vibrato and slides. It processes audio entirely locally in your browser for complete privacy, using a lightweight model that's under 20MB and runs up to 10x faster than real-time. Musicians, producers, educators, and developers love it for quickly turning hums, riffs, or performances into editable MIDI files importable into any DAW, without needing extra hardware.
Description
Basic Pitch by Spotify is a free, open-source audio-to-MIDI converter that excels at transcribing single-instrument recordings, including vocals, with precise pitch bend detection for elements like vibrato and slides. It processes audio entirely locally in your browser for complete privacy, using a lightweight model that's under 20MB and runs up to 10x faster than real-time. Musicians, producers, educators, and developers love it for quickly turning hums, riffs, or performances into editable MIDI files importable into any DAW, without needing extra hardware.
Key capabilities
- Audio-to-MIDI conversion with pitch bend detection
- Polyphonic transcription for single instruments and voice
- Local browser-based processing with no uploads
- Lightweight model (under 20MB, 17k parameters, 10x real-time speed)
- Supports WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC, M4A inputs
- Open-source Python/NPM library (Apache-2.0)
Core use cases
- 1.Quickly transcribe single-instrument ideas or hums to MIDI
- 2.Capture and edit real performances in a DAW
- 3.Teach audio transcription to beginners without MIDI keyboards
- 4.Integrate automatic music transcription into applications
Is Basic Pitch Right for You?
Best for
- Musicians/producers capturing single-instrument riffs or vocals
- Beginners/educators transcribing performances easily
- Developers building lightweight AMT features
Not ideal for
- Users separating multiple instruments in mixes
- Professionals needing flawless, edit-free transcriptions
Standout features
- Drag-and-drop audio upload or built-in recording
- Instant MIDI preview and download
- High accuracy on pitch bends, vibrato, and slides
- Efficient on-device inference
- Multiple audio format support
- Adjustable thresholds for note segmentation and confidence
User Feedback Highlights
Most Praised
- High accuracy for single-instrument polyphony and pitch bends
- User-friendly demo with instant results
- Outperforms some larger models in note accuracy
- Lightweight and fast for everyday use
- Popular GitHub repo with 4.6k stars and active maintenance
Common Complaints
- Struggles with dense multi-instrument mixes
- May produce repeated or imprecise note lengths
- Lower accuracy on highly complex or choppy solos
- Requires post-edits in DAW for professional polish