Convert MIDI to ALAC — Free Online Converter
Convert Standard MIDI File (.midi) to Apple Lossless Audio Codec (.alac) online for free. Fast, secure audio conversion with no watermarks or registra...
Secure Transfer
HTTPS encrypted uploads
Privacy First
Files auto-deleted after processing
No Registration
Start converting instantly
Works Everywhere
Any browser, any device
How to Convert
Upload your .midi file by dragging it into the upload area or clicking to browse.
Choose your output settings. The default settings work great for most files.
Click Convert and download your .m4a file when it's ready.
About MIDI to ALAC Conversion
MIDI (.midi) represents music as a structured sequence of performance commands rather than recorded sound. The format emerged from the collaboration of major synthesizer manufacturers in the early 1980s to create a universal instrument communication protocol. Today, .midi files remain essential in music education software (MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius exports), procedural game music engines, and electronic music production as a lightweight, editable representation of musical ideas.
ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) is Apple's answer to FLAC — a lossless compression scheme that reduces PCM audio to approximately 40-60% of its original size without discarding any data. Converting MIDI to ALAC renders the score through software synthesis and packages the result in Apple's lossless format, ideal for listeners who want perfect audio quality within the Apple ecosystem without the storage penalty of uncompressed AIFF.
Why Convert MIDI to ALAC?
Music educators who distribute practice tracks, sight-reading exercises, or theory demonstrations as MIDI files can convert to ALAC for Apple-device-equipped classrooms. Students receive consistent, lossless audio playback on their iPads and iPhones without needing MIDI player apps. The lossless quality ensures that subtle musical details — articulations, dynamic shading, instrument timbres — survive for analytical listening exercises.
Composers building personal archives of MIDI work can render their entire catalog to ALAC for Apple Music integration. ALAC files appear in the Music app with full metadata support (title, artist, album artwork, track numbers), enabling organized library management that raw MIDI files cannot provide. The lossless format guarantees the archive can be transcoded to any future format without generational loss.
Common Use Cases
- Rendering MIDI practice exercises as ALAC for iPad-equipped music classrooms
- Building a lossless personal music library from MIDI compositions for Apple Music integration
- Converting MuseScore MIDI exports to ALAC for sharing with Apple-device-using ensemble members
- Archiving procedural game music MIDI outputs as lossless ALAC reference renders
- Creating lossless audio study materials from MIDI for music theory online courses on Apple platforms
How It Works
The conversion begins with FFmpeg's MIDI decoder parsing the SMF header and building an event timeline indexed by absolute tick positions. Each tick is resolved to real time using the current tempo map. The synthesis engine loads instrument patches from a SoundFont and processes events in chronological order: note-on events trigger sample playback with velocity-mapped filter cutoff and amplitude; sustain pedal (CC64) holds notes beyond their key release; expression (CC11) provides real-time amplitude scaling. The mixed PCM output passes through the ALAC encoder, which applies linear prediction, adaptive rice coding, and frame-level optimization to compress losslessly within an M4A container.
Quality & Performance
ALAC encoding is mathematically lossless — the PCM recovered from ALAC decoding is identical to the synthesis output, sample for sample. This means the only quality variable is the SoundFont. Music education applications benefit from SoundFonts with clear, well-separated instrument timbres rather than heavily processed cinematic ones. A clean GM SoundFont with bright, distinct patches helps students identify individual instruments during ear training exercises. For composition archives, a more expressive, reverb-rich SoundFont produces a more enjoyable listening experience.
Device Compatibility
| Device | MIDI | ALAC |
|---|---|---|
| Windows PC | Partial | Partial |
| macOS | Partial | Native |
| iPhone/iPad | Partial | Native |
| Android | Partial | Partial |
| Linux | Partial | Partial |
| Web Browser | No | No |
Recommended Settings by Platform
Spotify
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 320 kbps
OGG Vorbis preferred
Apple Music
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 256 kbps
AAC format required
SoundCloud
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 128 kbps
Lossless FLAC/WAV for best quality
Podcast
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 128 kbps
MP3 mono for spoken word
Tips for Best Results
- 1Tag the ALAC output with complete metadata (title, composer, album, track number) for organized library management in Apple Music
- 2Use a SoundFont with clearly differentiated instrument timbres for educational MIDI renders — clarity matters more than realism for learning
- 3Render the entire MIDI catalog at consistent settings (sample rate, SoundFont) for a cohesive album-like listening experience
- 4Compare ALAC and AAC at 256 kbps on headphones — if you cannot distinguish them, AAC saves 60% storage with negligible quality loss
- 5Add album artwork to the ALAC M4A container for visual identification in Apple Music and iTunes library views
MIDI to ALAC serves music educators and composers in the Apple ecosystem who need lossless audio from symbolic music data. The format integrates perfectly with Apple Music, iPad, and iPhone while preserving every detail of the synthesis.