Have MIDI file. Want Audio. Don’t know how

Question

I have a very simple goal. I want to make a digital recording of myself practicing on a digital piano, play it back to myself, and share the audio with a friend.
My digital piano has a MIDI port. It cannot output raw audio, only MIDI. I downloaded a program called Xequence 2 on my iPad which captures my key presses and pedal presses and I can get a MIDI file out of it. (It also is capable of way more than what I need it to do.)
I want to generate an audio file using the MIDI file.
What I understand:

Xequence 2 is a sequencer, and it only works with MIDI signals. MIDI files do not by themselves carry sounds.
To get actual audio out of a MIDI file, I need a sound generator (a synthesizer?). Some sound generators sound better than others.

What I know how to do:

I can play the MIDI file back on my digital piano inside Xequence 2.
I can import the MIDI file into GarageBand and export an m4a file, which I can share (which is exactly what I need, but...)

What I want to achieve:

Use an alternative software to GarageBand. GarageBand ignores the BPM information in the MIDI file and I have to import the MIDI file as a “loop”, which I find counterintuitive.
Choose a piano sound I like.
Not use a free “MIDI opener” app or “MIDI-to-MP3 converter” website that has like one sound in it. I’m willing to pay for premium sounds.

What I’ve tried:

There are apps like Ravenscroft 275 which I can use to generate sounds “live” (I can mute my digital piano and use the app’s sound instead). While handy, this is not what I’m looking for.
I downloaded Synth One, which has way too many knobs for my purpose, but “import MIDI file” isn’t an option I can find.

I must not be Googling the right terms, because to me, “MIDI file in, piano sound out” sounds like a simple use case, but I can’t find a proper app / program where I can just give it a MIDI file, choose a piano sound, and have it spit out an mp3. What’s the proper terms for what I’m trying to do, and what options are there?

Hatebit · Answer

You need Virtual MIDI Synth.
It is a "driver" for PC that simulates a soft synthesizer, it will appear as an output "port" in your computer.
It accepts SoundFont files. You would need a SoundFont bank, there are free ones around the net.
Load it up and play your MIDI, setting the output to go to the "port" - it has a function to "record" MIDI, which basically directly converts the sound from the SoundFont file into a WAVE file.

Michael M K · Answer

For what it’s worth, I found a tolerable workflow that does what I want. Not endorsing any specific software / app mentioned here. Other brands are available.

MIDI recording: Xequence 2 or any other sequencer.
Signal routing: Audiobus or AUM.
Synthesizer: Ravenscroft 275 or many other options.
Audio recording / exporting: AudioShare

After recording the MIDI notes in the sequencer, have Audiobus route the MIDI output to the synth app, then route the output of the synth app to AudioShare. Hit record in AudioShare, then hit play in the sequencer.
If I don’t want to keep a MIDI file, I can drive the synth directly from the keyboard (instead of from the sequencer). I’m also ignoring the many, many options and features that music creators would appreciate but are wasted on me.
The entire stack runs on iPad and costs about US$50.

user70370 · Answer

It sounds a lot like you need a Digital Audio Workstation, like Ableton Live. Which, admittedly, is a bit like opening a can of ravioli using a naval gun, but for importing a MIDI, adding a good piano sound (maybe try Dexed, a free DX7 clone), and exporting a MP3 you really only need a small subset of its functions and there are good video tutorials for the basics.
Unfortunately, Ableton costs a bit (or a lot, depending on the variant) of money, and the free alternatives I am aware of are a bit of a mess.
You might also just get a mic and record your piano with that, it'll be a more authentic representation of your playing than recording the MIDI and then re-rendering it with an entirely different instrument.
(You can also drop Xequence if you go for the Ableton option or for another DAW, bc capturing MIDI is another feature of a DAW, and you could even play a virtual instrument like Dexed in real time.)

Laurence Payne · Answer

Are you sure your keyboard can't output 'raw audio'?  Isn't there at least a headphone socket?
Anyway, it certainly has a speaker!  Why be so complicated?  Use the audio recorder on your iPad or phone.  Play the piano, record the sound.  Done.
People get very purist about this.  An electrical connection MUST be better than putting a microphone in front of the source.  Well, yes...   But try.  You might be pleasantly surprised.  And this is about conveying the music, not releasing an audiophile-quality recording.

Albrecht Hügli · Answer

Save the midi file from the keyboard on your hardware.
Choose any software midi to wave (.wav or mp3). Done.

Have MIDI file. Want Audio. Don’t know how

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