symusic
A high performance MIDI file parser with comprehensible interface.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you work with symbolic music data and need fast, note-level MIDI/ABC parsing and transformation. The C++20 backend, active maintenance, MIT license, and zero known vulnerabilities make it a solid choice. Install friction is moderate (compiled dependencies) but pre-built wheels cover most platforms. The Alpha status means the API may shift, so pin the version in production.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires a C++20-capable compiler and CMake if building from source; pre-built wheels available for most platforms.
- Medium install friction due to compiled C++20 dependencies, but pre-built wheels cover Python 3.9–3.14 across Linux, macOS, and Windows including arm64.
- Active maintenance with recent commits and no known vulnerabilities.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT License permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you may use, modify, and distribute symusic freely provided you retain the license notice.
last release 2026-04-08 (128 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-11 · 186 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 99,479 downloads/mo, #13,018 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install symusic
from symusic import Score
score = Score("example.mid")
score.shift_pitch(12) # transpose up one octave
score.dump_midi("transposed.mid")- Exact performance multiplier ('hundreds of times faster') compared to pure-Python MIDI libraries in typical workflows
- Whether PyPy wheels for pp311 are actively maintained or tested alongside CPython releases
- Stability guarantees for the Alpha (Development Status 3) release in production pipelines
What it is and what it does
symusic is a symbolic music toolkit that loads and manipulates MIDI and ABC files at the note level, with a C++20 core exposed to Python via nanobind. It handles common music information retrieval tasks—parsing, time-unit conversion, beat/downbeat computation, piano roll generation, and vectorized transformations—much faster than pure-Python alternatives. The package also includes audio synthesis via SoundFonts and efficient serialization through pickle and NumPy exports.
You use it when you need to work with symbolic music data in research or production pipelines: load a MIDI file, apply transformations like transposition or velocity shifts, compute analysis features, and export the result. It targets music information retrieval (MIR) workflows where speed and a clean note-level API matter more than GUI-based editing.
Use it for
- Parse large MIDI datasets for MIR model training without the speed penalty of pure-Python libraries
- Transpose, filter, or resample note sequences programmatically for data augmentation
- Compute piano rolls and beat grids from MIDI for feature extraction in music analysis
- Render MIDI to audio using built-in SoundFont synthesis for listening and validation
- Convert between MIDI and ABC formats while preserving note-level structure
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you work with symbolic music data and need fast, note-level MIDI/ABC parsing and transformation.
The C++20 backend, active maintenance, MIT license, and zero known vulnerabilities make it a solid choice. Install friction is moderate (compiled dependencies) but pre-built wheels cover most platforms. The Alpha status means the API may shift, so pin the version in production.
Install
symusic on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to compiled C++20 dependencies, but pre-built wheels cover Python 3.9–3.14 across Linux, macOS, and Windows including arm64. Active maintenance with recent commits and no known vulnerabilities.
Requires a C++20-capable compiler and CMake if building from source; pre-built wheels available for most platforms.
License in practice
MIT License permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you may use, modify, and distribute symusic freely provided you retain the license notice.
Quickstart
pip install symusic
from symusic import Score
score = Score("example.mid")
score.shift_pitch(12) # transpose up one octave
score.dump_midi("transposed.mid")Verify before relying
- Exact performance multiplier ('hundreds of times faster') compared to pure-Python MIDI libraries in typical workflows
- Whether PyPy wheels for pp311 are actively maintained or tested alongside CPython releases
- Stability guarantees for the Alpha (Development Status 3) release in production pipelines
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 3 packagesnumpypySmartDLplatformdirs |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 128 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 99,479 / month, #13,018 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 3 - AlphaIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: MacOSOperating System :: Microsoft :: WindowsOperating System :: POSIXOperating System :: UnixProgramming Language :: C++Programming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: File FormatsTopic :: Multimedia :: Sound/Audio :: MIDI |
Evidence: symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_x86_64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_27_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_27_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-win32.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp310-cp310-win_arm64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_x86_64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_27_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_27_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-win32.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp311-cp311-win_arm64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp312-cp312-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; symusic-0.6.0-cp312-cp312-macosx_11_0_x86_64.whl
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See also music21 · pretty-midi · mido · librosa · basic-pitch · aubio · python-stretch · music-assistant-models · python-rtmidi · syncedlyrics