MidiToLily is a Windows console application that converts a MIDI file to LilyPond format. You can create sheet music from a MIDI file by using MidiToLily as a preprocessor for LilyPond. MidiToLily is an alternative to the midi2ly script that ships with LilyPond.
Download the latest release, unzip it, and run MidiToLily.exe. MidiToLily doesn't have an installer, doesn't have dependencies, and doesn't store things in the registry or anywhere else.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| MIDI_FILE | The path of the input MIDI file; if it contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes. |
| ‑output PATH | The path of the output LilyPond file; if it contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes. |
| ‑title STRING | The title of the composition; if it contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes. |
| ‑composer STRING | The name of the composer; if it contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes. |
| ‑copyright STRING | The copyright notice; if it contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes. |
| ‑frenched | Hide empty staves. |
| ‑verify | Compare the input MIDI file to a LilyPond-generated MIDI file; MidiToLilyIn.txt and LilyPondMidi.txt are created. |
| ‑quant DURATION | Quantize note start and end times to the specified duration (1=whole, 2=half, 4=quarter, etc.); if combined with triplet quantization, notes snap to the nearest grid. |
| ‑triplet DURATION | Quantize note start and end times to the specified TRIPLET duration (1=whole, 2=half, 4=quarter, etc.); if combined with regular quantization, notes snap to the nearest grid. |
| ‑offset OFFSET | Signed offset in ticks added to all MIDI event times. |
| ‑clef LIST | Comma-separated list of clef overrides, each consisting of t=c, where t is a track index and c is a clef name defined in LilyPond. By default, a track is automatically assigned treble or bass clef, depending on what pitches it uses. |
| ‑section LIST | Comma-separated list of measure numbers, each of which specifies the start of a section. |
| ‑ottava LIST | Comma-separated list of octave shifts, each consisting of t_M:B:T=n where t is a track index, M:B:T is a time in Measure:Beat:Tick format, and n is a signed number of octaves to transpose the staff by. |
| ‑help | Display the help. |
| ‑license | Display the license. |
| ‑logging TYPE | Enables various types of logging; specify a bitmask in hexadecimal, ? to list the types, or * to enable all. |
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| ‑quant 16 | Quantize to the sixteenth note grid. |
| ‑section 33,65 | Start sections at measures 33 and 65. |
| ‑clef 1=C,2=C | Use alto clef for tracks 1 and 2. |
| ‑ottava 1_5:3:0=2 | Shift track 1 up two octaves starting at MBT time 5:3:0. The longer example 1_5:3:0=2,1_8:1:45=0 also restores the same track to its unshifted state at 8:1:45. |
MidiToLily is written in C++ using MFC. It compiles cleanly in Visual Studio 2012 and 2019. MidiToLily does what I need it to do, but undoubtedly it could be improved.