converting a wav to midi

can someone explain to me how people convert normal music to midi format without ruining the music?
I have downloaded amazingmidi program and dblue glitch plugin for audacity
however I ca’t seem to get it sounding right
I am slowing the music down to 8000 rate before I try to convert it to midi but it still sounds awful
I know it is possible as I have seen many people do this so they can convert it to 8 bit with GXSCC
I have also tried using the dblue bitcrush plugin and it doesn’t return the 8 bit feel i need

I’ve never tried any audio-to-MIDI programs, but If there are chords or more than one instrument I assume it’s VERY difficult and your MIDI file will probably need some tweaking by hand.

however I ca’t seem to get it sounding right

What’s wrong with the sound? …Of course, MIDI is just “notes & timing”. If the notes & timing are wrong, that’s the audio-to-MIDI conversion. The sound quality depends on the quality of your virtual instruments.

I have also tried using the dblue bitcrush plugin and it doesn’t return the 8 bit feel i need

I’m not sure what kind of “feel” you’re looking for… If this is the MIDI file, of course you’ll need to get the MIDI set up first with the virtual instrument(s) you want, etc.

Then you’ll need to go the “normal way” from MIDI to audio before applying bitcrushing or other audio effects.

Audacity can export to 8-bit WAV, and you can reduce the sample rate, or you can export to low-bitrate MP3, etc, to degrade the sound.

You might also try the limiter set to “Hard Limit” for a harsh-distorted sound.

On one hand you’re saying it sounds awful, and on the other hand you’re trying to degrade the sound with bitcrushing…

AmazingMIDI apparently can only transcribe a single instrument …

"AmazingMIDI automatically transcribes music, converting WAV files into MIDI files. It can recognize > single-instrument > polyphonic music. It’s a powerful tool to help you to transcribe music, to practice musical instruments and to make MIDI files, and so on. "

So if you feed it a track with bass & lead & drums, (e.g.), it won’t be able to comprehend it : like trying to translate two people speaking at the same time.

You’d need to give it the bass-only track , then the lead-only track , if you have those tracks in isolation , or can create them.

how can I isolate the 3 tracks in audacity?
is there a way to do this easily or maybe a plugin?

Until recently, the answer would have been: “Next to impossible”.

Now, there’s ISSE - Interactive Sound Source Editor:

http://isse.sourceforge.net/

Watch the vid. You might need to invest some time tho…

ya I might just need to find new music
I have no idea how this crap works :frowning:

This “crap” is maybe the cutting edge of audio technology. Learn.