This post started life as our 2022 MIDI roundup. I’ve kept the title because plenty of you still land here from old links, but I’ve rewritten it for 2026: the packs below are the ones we actually sell today, and the advice reflects how I use MIDI in my own sessions. If you’re mainly after free sounds rather than MIDI, our free Serum 2 presets guide is the newer, bigger resource.
Here’s the original observation that kicked this article off, and it’s still true. Put on any top-50 playlist and most tracks blur together. Same drum samples, same vinyl-crackle plugin on a piano, same four chords.
The part that still separates tracks is the writing. A melody that tells a story without words. A chord progression that sets the mood before the drums even come in. Think of Sting’s “Shape of My Heart” — you hear two bars and you know the song.
Why MIDI files beat melody loops
A melody loop is frozen audio. You can chop it, pitch it, filter it — but the notes are the notes, and the sound is the sound. If another producer bought the same loop, your tracks share DNA you can’t remove.
A MIDI file is just the notes. That changes everything:
- Any sound you want. Drag the same MIDI onto a piano, a pluck, a distorted 808 — three different tracks from one file.
- Full editing. Move one note and the melody is yours. Change two chords and nobody will ever trace it.
- Any key, any tempo. Transposing MIDI is lossless. Transposing audio five semitones usually sounds like a chipmunk or a tape running slow.
- It teaches you. Open a well-written MIDI chord progression and you can see the voicings. That’s free music theory, one file at a time.
That’s why I keep making MIDI packs even though sample packs sell faster. MIDI is the format that actually makes you a better writer.
The MIDI packs worth grabbing in 2026
The 2022 list pointed at products that no longer exist in that form. Here’s the current lineup from our catalog, grouped by what you’re trying to write.
Start free: UNWRITTEN
The UNWRITTEN MIDI pack is the successor to the free pack this post originally promoted. Chords and melodies across future bass, hip-hop and pop, all labeled with key and tempo. Download it, drag a file into your DAW, and you’ll understand in two minutes why MIDI is worth your time.
Emotional writing
The Emotional MIDI Pack — Ultimate Edition is our biggest collection of sad and cinematic progressions. If you write pop ballads, emotional trap or anything in a minor key, this is the one I’d pick first. For shorter, cheaper options there’s also Sad MIDI Melodies Vol.4.
Trap and hip-hop
Trap MIDI Vol.1 covers dark melodies and 808-ready progressions. And if you want melodies inspired by specific artists’ styles, Hidden Gems Vol.1 was written with modern hip-hop references on the studio monitor.
Warm and upbeat
For house, pop and anything sunny, the Summer MIDI & Music Loop pack ships both MIDI and rendered loops, so you can hear the intended sound and then replace it with your own.
How to actually use MIDI files (without sounding like a preset)
Buying MIDI and dragging it into a project untouched is a waste of money. Here’s the workflow I use:
- Change the sound first. The fastest way to make a MIDI file yours is a sound nobody expects. A sad piano progression on a gritty analog bass hits completely differently.
- Transpose to your vocal. Working with a singer? Move the whole file to their comfortable key. Two clicks in any DAW.
- Edit the top note. In chord progressions, the highest note is the melody your ear follows. Move just the top notes around and you get a new progression that still works underneath.
- Humanize velocities. If every note sits at velocity 100, it sounds robotic. Vary them between roughly 70 and 110, and pull chord notes a few ticks apart so they don’t hit as one block.
- Steal the rhythm, not the notes. Sometimes I mute the original melody and just keep its rhythm, then write my own pitches over it. That’s a legit writing exercise, not cheating.
Pairing MIDI with Serum 2
Back in 2022 this post assumed you’d play these files through stock synths. In 2026 the obvious partner is Serum 2 — the update shipped in March 2025 as a free upgrade for Serum 1 owners, with three oscillators, five engines including granular and spectral, new FX buses and a built-in sequencer.
Two tricks that work great with MIDI packs:
- Chords into the arp. Drop a MIDI chord progression on a Serum 2 patch and turn on the arpeggiator — instant movement from static pads. Our arpeggiator and sequencer guide covers the settings.
- One MIDI, three layers. Duplicate the MIDI to three tracks: a pad an octave down, keys in the middle, a pluck an octave up. Pan the pluck slightly, lowpass the pad around 2 kHz, and you have a full arrangement from one file.
If you’re new to the synth, start with our Serum 2 for beginners walkthrough, and grab the 250+ free Serum 2 presets so you have sounds to feed these melodies into without spending anything.
FAQ: MIDI files and packs
Are MIDI files royalty-free?
Ours are. When you buy (or download the free) packs from us, you can use the MIDI in commercial releases without crediting us. Always check the license on other stores — a few sellers require credit or restrict sync use.
Can I use MIDI files in FL Studio, Ableton or Logic?
Yes. MIDI is a universal format from 1983 — every DAW reads it. Drag the .mid file onto an instrument track and it plays through whatever synth or sampler is loaded there.
Is using MIDI packs cheating?
No more than using drum samples is. Nobody writes every element from scratch on every track. The producers who get the most out of MIDI treat it as a starting point: they edit notes, change sounds and keep only what serves the song.
MIDI pack or sample pack — which should I buy first?
If your weak spot is melodies and chords, buy MIDI: it’s editable and it teaches you theory as you use it. If your weak spot is sound quality and texture, buy samples. Most of our newer packs include both, so you don’t always have to choose.
Grab something and go write
The 2022 collection this post was about is gone, but the idea aged well: strong chords and melodies are still the cheapest way to stand out. Start with the free UNWRITTEN pack, and if you want sounds to play it through, the free Serum 2 presets cost exactly nothing too. Worst case, you spend an evening making music. That’s a good worst case.
I run Monosounds.studio and make the packs myself. Ten-plus years of producing, 97+ releases, 16,000+ downloads. Every Serum 2 preset we ship passes a CPU check on a mid-range laptop and gets used in a real track before release. If it does not survive a mix, it does not go in the pack.
More about Maxim & the studio →
