# Magic Stave Midi Recorder

> Converts audio and MIDI input to visual musical notation and MIDI data. (iPhone/iPad app by James Jeffery.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/magic-stave-midi-recorder/id348795310 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [James Jeffery](https://appshunter.io/developer/310502446)
- Category: Music, Music, Education
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 1.80/5 from 5 App Store ratings · 49 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 8.0 · 6 MB
- Languages: English, French, Italian
- Released: 2010-01-09
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/magic-stave-midi-recorder/id348795310/reviews.md

## What is Magic Stave Midi Recorder?

Magic Stave listens to you singing or playing an acoustic musical instrument and displays the sound as notes on a music stave and shows the note positions on a piano, guitar, violin, flute or chromatic harmonica. 

If you have a MIDI keyboard you can connect this to Magic Stave and it will display MIDI notes played directly. You can connect any MIDI instrument through a suitable interface and cable OR wirelessly using Bluetooth (on IOS 8 or later on a compatible device).

Magic Stave records MIDI tracks either from the microphone or directly from a connected MIDI keyboard.
When recording from the microphone only single notes can be detected (not chords). When recording from a MIDI keyboard full polyphonic performance data is recorded.

Once you have recorded a MIDI track you can either play the track via the built-in MIDI player OR play the MIDI data (send it) to any set of connected MIDI devices (sound modules, GarageBand on Mac etc.) you choose.

Share your MIDI files via Airdrop, DROPBOX, MMS or email. Whenever inspiration comes to you, you can sing/play your ideas as MIDI and share. 

Automatically detects the key signature you're singing/playing.

Use the large Cent Meter to improve the accuracy of your singing as you can see exactly how sharp or flat you are.

See for yourself in the YouTube demo - search YouTube for 'magic stave'.

A brilliant tool for seasoned music professionals and beginners alike. Ideal for supporting you as you learn to read music or vocalists away from an instrument and want to know whether you're singing in tune.

Learning to read music and not sure whether the note you're playing is right? Magic Stave shows you the note you're actually playing and you can compare that with the sheet music you're reading to check you've hit the right note. All in the correct key signature.

Are you a singer reading music? Magic Stave will display the notes you're singing so you can ensure you're hitting the right note! Magic Stave can automatically tell you the key you're singing in too!

Ever wondered how high or low you can sing?  Magic Stave will show you instantly. Works great with all transposing instruments too.

Magic Stave:
- Converts detected notes via Microphone to MIDI notes.
- See notes on Piano, Guitar, Violin, Flute or Chromatic Harmonica.
- Record MIDI data from Microphone or a connected MIDI Keyboard (via cable or bluetooth).
- Play MIDI recordings via the built-in MIDI Player OR Send MIDI data to connected MIDI devices.
- Auto detect key signature.
- Share MIDI recordings via Airdrop/DROPBOX/MMS/Email
- Note History
- Display notes on Grand, Treble or Bass Clefs.
- Display notes in any major or minor key.
- Display notes on a piano keyboard, guitar fretboard, violin fingerboard with fingering tapes, flute fingerboard or chromatic harmonica.
- Display note names, european names and optional octave information.
- Display the frequencies of detected notes.
- Display the MIDI note number of detected notes.
- Cent Tuning Meter.
- Transposes detected notes up to 12 semitones up or down
- For "Transposing at the Octave" instruments - Guitar, Tenor Sax - display notes on stave correctly.
- Will detect frequencies accurately and fast in the note range C1 to C8. 
- Allows the configuration of the reference A frequency.

Works with iPod Touches (if you plug in a microphone to earlier models that don't have a built-in one).

## Key features

- Audio to MIDI conversion
- Visual instrument displays (piano, guitar, etc.)
- MIDI recording from microphone or keyboard
- MIDI playback and output
- Automatic key signature detection
- Note accuracy tuning meter
- MIDI file sharing

## Recent user reviews (10 of 49)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/magic-stave-midi-recorder/id348795310/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Great App works with my guitar and irig 2

*2021-08-27*

Would be good if midi files access worked I.e Dropbobut fails to connect to the site ,also would like to be able to save midi to files on the iPad , please update this great app ,thanks

### 1/5 — Doesn’t work anymore

*2020-02-17*

This is sad as it was really helpful pitch matching

### 1/5 — One note only

*2017-04-30, version 2.2.7*

Records notes if you only press one note at a time  If you press two, it records a random note  Does not record if you press the same note again  No timing, everything is a whole not   This is completely unfinished

### 5/5 — Great value

*2016-12-29*

Use with slowed music reads note names and length in exported midi score app

### 2/5 — Disappointing

*2016-12-17, version 2.2.7*

I just bought this App for my iPad thinking that I could convert some of my midi tracks in Garage Band and Music Studio to sheet music, but this is not the App for that.  In fact, I have been unable to find an App that works on iPad that will do that.  Anyway, I figured that I could still use this App to capture elusive chords and notes when humming in the mic as it is advertised.  However, Magic Stave does a pretty lousy job of capturing all the notes no matter how slow I try to sing or hum a tune.  I even tried different mics including USB mic attached to the iPad using the Apple photo adapter but that didn't work (that mic setup works fine with Garage Band).  Also, when I attached my midi keyboard I got a lot of electronic "fuzz" with each recorded note on playback and had to make sure I switched to just the midi input to get clear notes.  Same with the mic, but the instructions don't tell you that.  It would also be good if you could hear a midi instrument when recording, but Magic Stave doesn't convert to audio on the input.  That's a real shame for someone used to plugging their midi keyboard in to record on Garage Band and being able to hear what they're recording. One more thing when attaching a midi instrument is that you have to select the right channel. At first I could not get my keyboard to work until I "found" it on channel 8, then for some reason I lost it and eventually found it again on channel 1.  I also wanted to send a piano track from Music Studio to Magic Stave because I could see that it was showing Music Studio as a midi interface, but I'm not sure how I would be able to import it in to Magic Stave as there were no instructions in the Help section how to do that.

This App is a good idea for someone wanting to capture a song idea while on the go, but I just couldn't get it to work.  I think it will need some improvements to make it more usable, but for me it was a wasted 3 bucks and Saturday afternoon screwing with it when I could have had more fun recording a new song. I hope to see an update that will make it more usable.

### 1/5 — Awful UI

*2016-10-18*

Very unintuitive

### 1/5 — No work

*2016-08-16*

Pity this doesn't work it was what I was looking for :(

### 4/5 — Helps with sight-reading

*2016-05-24*

Really good app to help get started reading music. I use with midi input and there can be a lag if more than one note played- any way chords could be displayed using midi?

### 4/5 — Violin, and precision of fingering

*2016-02-21, version 2.2.2*

Would you provide an option for fingering 'tapes' for violin? It would show whether the note is correct, or between tones.
   Magic Stave seems to have some trouble detecting notes above high E (in the octave above middle C). I think I saw a notice about improving this, though the same clefs still seem to be shown.

### 5/5 — Awesome

*2016-02-02, version 2.2.1*

Could use better accuracy sometimes but about 95% accurate sometimes there's a delay in note display  if singing into the phone but it has helped me a lot with pitch and songwriting I highly recommend it.

## Frequently asked questions about Magic Stave Midi Recorder

### What does Magic Stave Midi Recorder do?

Magic Stave Midi Recorder listens to your singing or acoustic instrument and displays the sound as musical notes on a stave. It also shows note positions on various instruments like piano, guitar, and violin. The app can convert these notes into MIDI data, allowing for recording, playback, and sharing of your musical ideas.

### How can I record music with Magic Stave Midi Recorder?

You can record MIDI tracks either by singing or playing into your device's microphone, or by connecting a MIDI keyboard directly. When recording from the microphone, only single notes are detected. Recording from a MIDI keyboard captures full polyphonic performance data.

### Is Magic Stave Midi Recorder free to use?

Yes, based on the provided information, Magic Stave Midi Recorder is available for free. There are no mentions of subscription fees, paid versions, or in-app purchases for core functionality.

### What instruments can I see the notes displayed on?

The app can display detected notes on a piano, guitar fretboard, violin fingerboard, flute fingerboard, or chromatic harmonica. It also supports displaying notes on Grand, Treble, or Bass Clefs.

### Who would benefit from using this app?

This app is beneficial for both seasoned music professionals and beginners. It's ideal for those learning to read music, vocalists wanting to check their pitch, or any musician who wants to quickly capture musical ideas as MIDI.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.2.7 — 2016-10-31

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

IOS 10 Compatability update and bug fixes.

### 2.2.5 — 2016-05-19

A whole bunch of goodies:
- Improved note detection sensitivity
- On iPad a new setting to change the position of the Note Name label - from above the stave to below
- New popup to directly set the key signature rather than cycle
- Large Cent Meter has smooth animation now
- MIDI file format bug fixed
- MIDI recording bug fixed
- UI tweaks to make the App more even more pleasant to use.

I fully support my Apps, if you have any problems or ideas or suggestions for improvements then email me from within the App and I'll see what i can do!

### 2.2.4 — 2016-04-20

. Midi recording and playback bug fixes.

### 2.2.3 — 2016-04-11

. Now a Universal App with full support for iPads!
. New UI tweaks to improve clarity and simplicity

My Apps are fully supported. If you experience problems or have suggestions for new features please email me from within the App. Thank you for using Magic Stave.

### 2.2.2 — 2016-02-10

Performance improvements

## Apps similar to Magic Stave Midi Recorder

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Audio Toolbox](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audio-toolbox/id1353387223) | 5.0 (7) | $3.99 | Music |
| [Guitar Notation Pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-notation-pro/id1144465456) | 4.1 (24) | $149.00 | Music |
| [Learn how to play Guitar PRO](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-how-to-play-guitar-pro/id1061211284) | — | $1.99 | Music |
| [Congas + - Drum Percussion Pad](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/congas-plus-drum-percussion-pad/id1525163114) | 3.8 (4) | $3.99 | Music |
| [Better Ear](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ear/id1609227938) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Music |
| [Melody Dictation](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/melody-dictation/id1555249262) | 3.8 (4) | Free | Music |

## More apps by James Jeffery

- [Bank Card Checker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bank-card-checker/id336476428)
- [Magic Stave Free](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/magic-stave-free/id354929718)
- [mi light LED Flashlight and Strobe](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mi-light-led-flashlight-and-strobe/id382373668)
- [Dr Rhythm](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dr-rhythm/id411299032)
- [Photo Sudoku](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photo-sudoku/id526657276)

All apps by James Jeffery: https://appshunter.io/developer/310502446

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*