Publishing MIDI music as video
Composers, arrangers and students who write music in notation software or a sequencer often end up with a MIDI file. Video platforms do not accept MIDI, and most do not accept audio files either. When you convert MIDI to MP4, the file is played by a General MIDI soundfont synthesizer, and the rendered sound is placed in a standard MP4 video. You can upload it to YouTube, post it on social networks or share it in a group chat, and everyone hears the same arrangement.
Common uses
- Composition portfolios and drafts shared with teachers or collaborators.
- Practice videos for choirs and bands, one per part.
- Game and retro music channels that publish renders of classic MIDI files.
- Music class assignments where a video link is easier to submit than a file.
How the video looks
The video options are the same as in Audio to Video. The background can be a two-colour gradient, a single colour or your own image. The file name appears as the title, and you can type the composer or artist. An animated spectrum, waveform or circle follows the music, with an optional progress bar. Pick 1080p for YouTube, 720p for a smaller file, square for feeds or vertical for Shorts and Reels. To trim or fade the audio first, render it with MIDI to MP3, edit it, then make the video from the MP3.
What decides the sound
A MIDI file stores notes, tempo, instrument numbers, volume and panning. The soundfont provides the actual instrument tones, with reverb and chorus added. That means the video will sound different from your notation program's playback or your keyboard. Listen to the preview, and change instruments in the MIDI file if something does not fit.
Before you upload
The render ends with a short tail so the last chord can ring out. Video platforms compress audio again, so start from a clean render. If you publish MIDI files written by others, check that you have permission; many classic MIDI arrangements are copyrighted even when the original composition is in the public domain.