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About Orfeo

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Orfeo is a free Windows app that turns any MIDI file into a piano lesson: the notes fall onto a keyboard, the harmony is named as it plays, and you can reshape the file into exactly the practice material you need. This page explains what Orfeo does, what it asks of you (nothing) and how this manual is organised.

What Orfeo does

Everything in Orfeo follows the path from a raw MIDI file to a lesson you built yourself. The manual follows the same four stages:

Stage

What you do

Written to the file?

Playing

Load a file, listen, slow it down, loop a passage, change the key, show or hide parts.

No, session only

Editing

Clean up tracks, split a piano part into two hands, fix single notes, set the mix.

Yes, as a new version; the original is never touched

Practising

Follow the chords, read ahead with the Chord Prompter, explore chords and scales, play along on your own keyboard.

No

Managing

Keep your library tidy with favourites, folders, search and per-file history.

Preferences only

Free, private and offline

  • Free, now and always. No trial, no paid tier, no in-app purchases.
  • No account. You never sign in or register anything.
  • No ads and no telemetry. Orfeo doesn’t collect or send anything about you or your files.
  • Works offline. The internet is only used when you choose to download an extra soundfont, and for the update check in the installed version.
  • Open source. The full source code is public under the GNU GPLv3 licence.

What you need

  • A PC with Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). See System requirements for details.
  • MIDI files. Orfeo also opens MusicXML, Guitar Pro, Capella and karaoke files and converts them for you (see Supported formats). Three demo songs are included, so you can try everything straight away.
  • Optionally, a USB or MIDI keyboard to play along. Everything else works with the mouse and computer keyboard alone.

Using this manual

  • New to Orfeo? Start with Download and install, then Quick Start.
  • Get your bearings with The Orfeo window, a tour of every area of the screen.
  • Then dip into the stage you need: Playing, Editing, Practising or Managing.
  • Every option in Settings has its own page under Settings, and Tips & Tricks collects short recipes for common practice goals.

Stuck? The Support section covers troubleshooting and how to reach me.

Where Orfeo comes from

Orfeo started as a spiritual successor to Rondo, a much-loved macOS MIDI player that is no longer available. It is built and maintained by one independent developer, so bug reports and ideas go straight to the person who writes the code.

Orfeo is built with care by one independent developer – me, Aleš. It is powered by curiosity, love of music, stubbornness, and probably more coffee than strictly necessary. Enjoying Orfeo? Help me keep developing the app. Because every little bit helps us strike the right chord and keep the music going. Thanks for your support. You’re a note above the rest! · Buy me a coffee