ClefSnapMusicXML vs MIDI: which one do you need?
Both can carry the notes of a piece, but they describe different things. MusicXML describes the page. MIDI describes the performance.
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The short answer
- Choose MusicXML if you want to keep editing or printing the score in notation software.
- Choose MIDI if you want to play the notes with other sounds in a music program, or on a digital instrument.
Side by side
| MusicXML | MIDI | |
|---|---|---|
| Describes | Written notation | Performance events |
| Note spelling (D♯ or E♭) | Kept | Lost: only the pitch number is stored |
| Note values | Exact, as written | Rebuilt from timings when imported |
| Lyrics and dynamics | Part of the score | Limited, and often lost in practice |
| Best opened in | Notation software | Music production software |
| Typical file extension | .musicxml, or .mxl when compressed | .mid |
Why spelling matters
On a piano, D♯ and E♭ are the same key, and MIDI records only that. In a score they mean different things, and a part full of wrong spellings is hard to read. This is why a score that goes through MIDI and back often needs cleaning up, and why MusicXML is safer for notation.
What about MXL?
An .mxl file is compressed MusicXML. It holds the same music in a smaller file, and most programs that open MusicXML open it too.
Getting either one from printed music
ClefSnap can read a photo or PDF of printed music and export both formats, so you do not have to decide before you scan. Read more about converting sheet music to MusicXML or sheet music to MIDI.