You folks know everything. Is this possible? Is it free?
The short answer is yes. I can’t recommend a freeware solution only because I have been using commercial products that do this since the mid(i) '80s. I am not wimping out on you. I just haven’t used any of the freeware solutions. Someone here must have experience with one such program. I am sure Google can sort out the possibilities quickly enough. Search “convert midi to notation”. You’ll get loads of hits. Or try the usual shareware download sites.
Feadoggie
Yep, most MIDI editors and/or notation editors can import/export MIDI and print it out as dots. The problem with raw MIDI is that it’s just a stream of note data without the inherent structuring that makes notation readable - bar lines, time and key signatures, ties and ligatures, etc. So imported MIDI often takes a bit of post-editing to work it into printable form. But it can be done.
If you’re looking for a freeware solution AND you are OK with Linux, then the Rosegarden/Lillypond combo is a very good way to get raw midi files into printable, notation form. On the windows side, I’m sure Finale still imports midis and print a nice score. It’s not free, though. Also MT’s advice should be well heeded - you will have to do some common-sense notation editing after import.
MuseScore (http://www.musescore.org/) also appears to be a viable, free notation editor that can import/export midi’s. It appears to be available for windows as well as Linux. I haven’t tried it, but will have a look at it.
Another I’ve tried is Finale Notepad, a scaled down version of the popular pro package Finale. It’s no longer free, but it’s cheap ($10). Reads and writes MIDI and MusicXML.
Thank you all. I’ll try out your suggestions. My computer crashed this past week and I got a new CPU and haven’t bothered installing all the peripheries yet. I have a free version of finale on my external hard drive that I haven’t used in awhile. Is it no longer going to work? I’ll let you know.
Everyone I know who owns a copy of Finale really likes it for the purpose of loading a MIDI file and being able to print sheet music directly from it. You can probably find an older copy of a previous version somewhere out there and spend a lot less than whatever the current new version costs. I could be wrong…
Matt
Sibelius will import a midi file
I like it better than Finale so thought I’d mention it. It is expensive as is the full version of Finale
Downloading MuseScore as I post this
There was a shareware music program that I believe would import midi … started with an M - google it or try altavista.com for a change in pace
Bill
Here’s some instructions on one way to do it: