5 REAPER Options for MIDI Editing you NEED to know!

[@IDDQDSound]

Hey folks! A small note to add: Other than the first sync action you need to also run 'Timebase: Sync to arrange view' to get your MIDI Editor and timeline fully in sync. Sorry I forgot to mention that! Also, custom note rows are saved in File>Note/CC Names> save :)

[@miggybat]

Thank you for adding this note! I was going crazy trying to figure this out.

[@Hocus_Tokus]

@@miggybat Same ! Thanks Arya !

[@Hocus_Tokus]

@@kefalospera2879 Have you tried to run the 'Timebase: sync to arrange view action from the Midi Editor' context, as Arya said in the first comment? This action needs to be run each time you open Reaper (guess you can put ig in in SWS Start actions to lunchbox it at every startup).

[@TheREAPERBlog]

10:20 - custom note rows are saved with the save note names function. File menu

[@IDDQDSound]

noice! Thanks Jon :)

[@TheKiriru]

Man! I keep coming back to this video once in a while because it is so cool in the way you specify THESE exact things which I stumble upon all the time. So I bookmarked it to watch it when I can't move any forward. That also means, I can't like this video as many times, as I watch it. So these are my thumbs up: thumb up thumb up thumb up thumb up thumb up Subscribed! Love you!

[@djabthrash]

07:52 such a timesaver By the way in Reaper v6.82 this action is now called : "Options: Enable extending parent media item when editing MIDI notes (if parent item is exactly the length of the MIDI content)"

[@ericburns9543]

This dudes Reaper videos always deliver the goods. Always key insights.

[@djabthrash]

05:23 the midi note on/off thing was very interesting and well explained

[@ExplicableCashew]

Re: chase midi note ons. A bigger reason why it's disabled by default is that there's no way of knowing if your midi plugin has modulation over time. If an instrument has any kind of an ADSR envelope, or some sort of sequencing, hearing the middle of the note and playing it as if it was triggered from the middle could sound drastically different. I think the option is off by default according to the principle of least surprise. If you manually turn it on and weird things happen, you'll know that's because you decided to turn it on Also, seeing as you welcomed some nerd talk, technically a note off is not just the note with the velocity of 0. The high four bits of the first byte of the message are different (note on is 0x9, note off is 0x8), and the velocity can be anything! In fact it can be one of the ways to pass additional information from one plugin to the next, just put the value where the velocity is, it's not used otherwise and you don't have to deal with sending SysEx or something

[@IDDQDSound]

Yeah I went deeper in my first draft on it but then decided to make it another video as it made this one really long.

[@elderozone]

The custom Note-rows is insane, thank you for demonstrating it

[@IDDQDSound]

It's pretty cool! :)

[@navneet4489]

Hey nice one...I have recently started my hands on Reaper...one thing that i am missing, is record behavior in Midi Editor...as some times i don't want to see my arrange window while working in midi editor and it makes really sluggy to me to click arrange window every time, to activate recording in midi editor...even i cannot move forward and backward my playhead with hot keys in midi editor as in arrange window....

[@JimDooley]

I just tested the note row thing and if you save the track as a track template, it will save the custom rows, note names and the order. Now the question is, can you overwrite the track without affecting the track items? I think so, but I'm not sure. I have a vague memory of seeing Jon Tidey do it. Maybe with project resources or somthing liek that. Anyway, thanks for the video, I've been working with audio almost exclusively for the past decade or so. And back then, I was using Sonar so I haven't spent much time with Reaper's MIDI. I'm looking forward to creating an optimized workflow.

[@evertschut]

This has probably been the most usefull tutorial on midi ever! I'm always struggling with these specific editing problems - every time! 🙏

[@IDDQDSound]

Thanks so much! Btw Releasing a video in response to your earlier comment tomorrow morning!!

[@citadelo5ricks]

This modified my workflow quite nicely. Docking midi editor up top of arrange allows zoom in midi and overview in arrange. Great view to keep the structure of the song in mind while doing detailed tweaking. Also, the higher resolution preference is BOSS.

[@st33Npuist]

same, was an eye-opener for me

[@Nightowl427272]

Another fantastic video full of immediately useful and relevant content. This channel deserves a LOT more subs.

[@IDDQDSound]

Thanks so much! I'd love some subs :P

[@audiobabble5211]

Excellent video, really useful tips. One other thing I find really annoying is the way the edit cursor jumps to the note when you draw it in -- this really messes up drawing loops on the fly while looping. Easy fix: Options > MIDI Editor Mouse modifiers > under context: MIDI piano roll, change the default left-click action to "No Action" :)

[@IDDQDSound]

Nice! Yeah for loops it's a life saver!

[@sirvaant]

is there a way to turn of when you hit your midi keyboard that it does not insert midi notes while not in record this can be frustrating

[@IDDQDSound]

Hi! You may accidentally step input enabled in the midi editor

[@daviddahl8562]

thanks there's actually first 3 issue's that you explained which I was going through last night now I can fix those. I've had reaper no for almost 2 weeks with these awesome videos I've been able to get it together. I just started using the the piano roll and got some cool vst downloads. Im still looking for a good bass guitar vst for free Thanks again I do hace a mac mini ventura 13 i use. I did hit the like button and subscribed and the notification bell

[@Yitzy_Lindner_Studios]

wow, thanks dude! SUPER helpful!

[@IDDQDSound]

My pleasure!

[@edunogues23]

Best Reaper channel by faaaar❤

[@IDDQDSound]

Omg happy you think so but Kenny and Jon foreva of course !

[@jimmythebold589]

Xell ohh is excellent, too

[@Hocus_Tokus]

Thank you Arya for these nice tips ! The sync with arrange view is really super useful ! 🙏

[@IDDQDSound]

My pleasure :)

[@TadDoylemusic]

@@IDDQDSound I totally agree! So very useful. Thanks Arya! It didn't work until I used your additional instruction to : "Timebase: Sync to arrange view' . Very cool.

[@MonkeyBars1]

I would click on YOUR top 4 videos any day br0 This video is PURE GOLD.

[@IDDQDSound]

Thanks my dude! Okay now I gotta make a top 4 video!

[@mauriciovinco6143]

Super useful! I found it annoying to extend midi editor area. Reaper is very customisable (I especially love custom note names you can just generate and import, useful for microtonal stuff) but sometimes options by default are very annoying. I wish there was a Reaper theme or config with all the obvious usability options already preset. Meanwhile thank you for your work, very entertaining, keep it up!

[@IDDQDSound]

Hey that's a good idea! I'd be happy to share mine in the mean time :)

[@ryanmaurer2630]

@@IDDQDSound Would love this

[@konafama]

at 6:12...how did you multi-select? I cant find a way to drag select a group of notes in the midi editor. Or for instance select all instances of one note in the region(in the midi editor) ..to for instance move all strikes on one tom tom to the other. Thanks

[@IDDQDSound]

You need to right click and drag to select multiple notes. If you want to select all notes of the same pitch, right click on that note in the piano roll on the side :)

[@solyarisoftware]

Hi! Great videos! I learned a lot from your deepenings! I submitted on the reaper forum this feature request: " Enabling MIDI Key Snapping When Recording". What do you think about it?

[@solyarisoftware]

update: I just discovered you can do it with plugin: ReaControlMIDI !

[@trevortjes]

10:04 what if they aren't saved per track for me? It just stays on hide unused and unnamed note rows for each midi item I open.

[@IDDQDSound]

Means you have one midi editor per project enabled. In preferences>MIDI Editor

[@slimpyman]

Love this midi note on and off spiel. I have been a nerd for compys since 94, and with music production I feel like a total noob. Thanks for that tangent of useless useful info.

[@IDDQDSound]

So happy someone enjoys my tangeants :)

[@MRboomchongo]

Great Video man! I need to know how you got your midi editor lines white. I need that visibility while I' m editing.

Great video! Do you know if there's a way to prevent the MIDI editor to change the Time Selection of the project? Always when I use the right-drag to marquee select notes in the MIDI window, it also changes the Time Selection, even if it's locked... it's a bit annoying, hehe

[@Jgbaileymusic]

Haha good tips. Your tool bars are pretty full on.

[@daniellumertz7508]

Very Nice Video! I would also add the option to import MIDI as a file reference, this way the MIDI works as audio saved in a place in your PC, which normally is meh/bad, but for multiple software editing the same MIDI content is great. As we use things like RX for editing audio while using reaper.

[@IDDQDSound]

Ahh yeah good one! Shoulda added that too!

[@ashcatlt]

Channel in a midi message is not about where the synth “sends” the sound. It’s which synth even plays. The synth looks at a certain channel on its input. If it sees a note on with that channel, then it will play it.

[@IDDQDSound]

"It's which synth even plays" seems like a rewording of where the synth sends the sound. Yes the midi message travels everywhere via cables and synths ignore messages with the wrong channel, but in reaper you get a light up when the note from the right channel plays and otherwise, not, so it felt like a simple enough analogy I thought. The hardest thing about making tutorials these days is knowing that any second of extra info may make people stop watching, so you have to be concise while also being interesting, while also getting nitpicked every step of the way.

[@ashcatlt]

No I hear ya. Just the way I heard it, I feel like people might start to get confused with audio output channels. It is possible in some synths for the two to be connected, but it’s not the same thing at all.

[@IDDQDSound]

@@ashcatlt fair point! I did actually have audio routing in mind when I wrote this, thinking from a user's standpoint it's fairly equivalent, but you're totally right :)

[@lvcifer-cloverfield]

Custom note rows are going to save me so much time editing breaks

[@atashbeats8055]

Aryan jan, your channel is amazing and goes so deep in Reaper. Thanks for all the hard work man. Chakerim. 🙌

[@IDDQDSound]

Mokhlesim

[@djabthrash]

09:44 remove a note row from view

[@Vibration_Transmission]

Your Video's are Incredibly helpful thankyou! I have 2 questions... The option to preview notes (by clicking) in event list is greyed out! is it possible to get working? Can you dock both event list and piano roll side by side together? Thanks Bro

[@IDDQDSound]

Hey Lemar! Thanks for the kind words! 1. That's weird, will it be not greyed out if you go to piano roll? If yes, maybe enable it there and then switch? 2. Yes but not for the same MIDI Item. ie you can have multiple midi windows and set them to what you want, but you can't view the same midi items in both modes AFAIK :)

[@Vibration_Transmission]

@@IDDQDSound Hi , thanks, completely missed this reply, makes sense, so in my piano roll if i click a note it previews, but in event list it does not.. In options/note preview all options are ticked, asked Chat Gpt and said check Midi note preview in Midi Editor in preferences but this option is not there? Id really like to sound the notes in event list with mouse click and so i can toggle up/down to edit drums and lengths of notes in the event list, if you have any idea's id be really grateful! im on Reaper 7.11 btw ;-)

[@techroach6343]

Actually good and useful. Subbed on the strength of this tute

[@IDDQDSound]

Thanks and welcome aboard!

[@fabiang.805]

How do you display these white, vertical separator lines? I have a hard time seeing where a measure begins in the MIDI roll and I really like how it looks in your setup. Thanks a lot for the video, very informative!

[@IDDQDSound]

Hey thank you! It's in the theme tweaker somewhere but not sure exactly where. Open the theme tweaker and search for midi editor, and then it should be called grid lines or something like that!

[@fabiang.805]

@@IDDQDSound nice, thanks! 👌

[@zachhob]

Great tips!! Thanks a lot man.. love your channel & vid style 🤘

[@IDDQDSound]

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoy them :)

[@aleksandrpotylko]

Bro, how to customize piano roll scrolling and mouse modifiers (these are limited)

[@maplefoxx6285]

custom note rows is amazing, thanks again

[@IDDQDSound]

You're welcome!

[@maplefoxx6285]

@@IDDQDSound heyy, do you know if I can control the start record button in reaper with a midi controller is that possible? it would be nice to hit a midi foot switch to start record for guitar parts. I have been thinking about this for a while now.

[@IDDQDSound]

@@maplefoxx6285 hey yes you can. When you go to action list and assign hotkeys, when you click on add you can press your footswitch and it will be assigned. Make sure in preferences > device > midi > it's set to enabled+control

[@maplefoxx6285]

@@IDDQDSound it's that easy? awesome, thanks!

[@sheldonswan45]

I inserted a one measure midi drum sample/phrase and then drug it out several measures. If I want to edit the initial measure without it affecting the subsequent copied measures, how do I do that? thanks!

[@peterlepahin]

Thank you, your videos are super useful!!! (I have only found your channel now - new subscriber!)

[@IDDQDSound]

Welcome aboard :)

[@frankg.39]

Very useful, thank you!

[@ThomasECahill]

Great stuff brother 👍

[@IDDQDSound]

Thanks

[@citadelo5ricks]

Do you have any "groove" videos? I mean "groove tool" is very primitive and barely a starting point. Do you have other groove tools/processes you recommend?

[@michaelpettit3473]

Great video Arya - massively helpful for idiots like me! Speaking of which, I've checked the "Sync edit transport to project transport" option but my Arrange view doesn't scroll with my MIDI Editor (and vice versa) like it did in your video! Is there something else I may have inadvertently checked in Preferences or something which would stop this working?

[@IDDQDSound]

Hey! Yes sorry I noticed this after releasing the video. I use an action for it and it's not the same as this option (I messed up) The action you want is: Timebase: Sync to arrange view My bad :)

[@quicklicks5963]

I use a sustain pedal and it sounds great but doesn't show in note lengths, and when I duplicate I get short notes

[@kevinlong4657]

Great tips, thank you!

[@IDDQDSound]

My pleasure!

[@MoreMeRecording]

Cool stuff. Appreciate ya, Bro. Cheers

[@IDDQDSound]

My pleasure, my dude

[@ericgemme7927]

#4 is a game changer!!

[@IDDQDSound]

Right?

[@BluessNRock]

Hey bro: Your videos are so well done¡¡ thank you very much

[@yvngkd7533]

Great Tips. But When I click the blank space of midi piano roll there is no note preview...and only click the piano keyboards left side of the piano roll then it works... plz help me...

[@IDDQDSound]

When you say click do you mean left click? Cuz you have to click with your left mouse, and you can enable all options in preview :)

[@yvngkd7533]

@@IDDQDSound yeah it was left click.But i solved this problem.I just found that my mouse modifier setting got something wrong so it was crushing my original command.Thx For Your Comment！Always appreciate for your knowledge！

[@andreasfranzmann9634]

Allow midi to extend the media item. Hallelujah! THANK YOU!

[@IDDQDSound]

It's the little things :P

[@vegardyrnes1793]

You are good! Thnx, inspiring stuff!😃👍👌

[@IDDQDSound]

Thank you! :)

[@dustythompson5382]

can midi be assigned to a shortcut key if so how can it be done?

[@IDDQDSound]

Do you mean midi notes to be played by a key? Or do you mean using midi keys to run actions?

[@grdalenoort]

one issue with chase midi-notes might be a sound that needs to start on the right moment to build up.

[@IDDQDSound]

exactly!!! I mentioned this the first time I covered this but forgot to this time. In those cases, I tend to freeze them unless I'm actively working on them :)

[@grdalenoort]

@@IDDQDSound Re-watched this vid from 2 years ago, will you be back on youtube soon... please ?

[@markholmes2419]

Really useful - many thanks

[@IDDQDSound]

You're very welcome!

[@JamesMusicPH]

What Reaper theme is that?

[@vinylrake]

very useful tips, thanks!

[@IDDQDSound]

My pleasure :)

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

Thank you1 The first tip is not working properly here. No "zooming" on both windows. Have no idea why...

[@PodPeak]

Great video. Thanks!

[@IDDQDSound]

My pleasure! :)

[@edunogues23]

Is there a way to see MIDI notes bigger on the TCP? When Im working with just one note (C2 for triggering kicks for example) its kinda annoying that there are just tiny blocks on the lower end of the MIDI item instead of one big note in the center

[@IDDQDSound]

Have you seen the inline editor? I have a video on it if you haven't. You can make the note as big as you want or maybe even hide all other note rows!

[@edunogues23]

@@IDDQDSound Nice! Man you are a gift from the heavens♡

[@sound_verse]

Good Video!

[@yourtypebeat]

That reaper logo on the thumbnail 🤩 would be cool to have it as the default icon. How can I make it happen?

[@perfectnight999]

8:22 hide unused note rows

[@IDDQDSound]

Is this more of a note to self?

[@mageprometheus]

I added 'Timebase: Toggle sync to arrange view' to a button as the option 'Sync editor transport to project transport' doesn't work To add the option to the two menus: MIDI Editor undocked top menu bar Options is 'MIDI main options (&Options). For the context menu use the Options section of 'MIDI main menu context' Why is this never simple. 😁

[@tomwilhelm4875]

Thanks you. Same issue where views wouldn't sync. Now they do (with a button push).

[@IDDQDSound]

Hey long time no see! Yesss made a mistake. Noticed after release. Check description :P

[@mageprometheus]

@@IDDQDSound Hay. I was getting a little disheartened due to my useless 12-year-old PC maxing out the CPU. I've now built a 64GB Ryzen 5950x monster and have renewed enthusiasm for production and VCV Rack. I've also spoiled myself with some DT990 Pros, Hewett 440 pure, x-touch, iD14 Mk II, Stream Deck XL. Lots of new toys. 😁

[@IDDQDSound]

@@mageprometheus ahhh wouldn't you know it, I also have been hit with a dying computer so I share your pain. Congrats on the new toys tho :)

[@thomasshugar5636]

AWESOME! THANK YOU!!!!

[@IDDQDSound]

Awesome possum

[@philippehellouin63]

Even synched, My Zoom actions don't synch between my Midi Editor and my Project Editor. It should be synched in a different way

[@IDDQDSound]

Hi! As another user mentioned, you need to run timebase: toggle sync to arrange view from the midi editor section of the action list. My bad for not including this in the video :)

[@brian_hibbs]

I accidentally got into a mode on piano roll and can't figure out how I did it. If anyone knows let me know but basically I could edit my piano roll straight from the track without opening the piano roll. I had a blank midi track on my mpk mini midi controller. I hit shift and dragged out a 4 bar midi track. I then could edit it straight from that on the timeline/arrange area.

[@Reapertips]

awesome

[@IDDQDSound]

I'm semi-proud of the thumbnail on this one :)

[@synthesaurus]

ticking "sync editor" has no effect in Reaper 7

[@IconOfSin]

I just hate that automation in the midi editor is step based. Great vid

[@IDDQDSound]

It doesn't have to be. Check out this video on mouse modifiers. You can use them to make it not step based, or you can turn snapping off: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqiaZWaCoJxjhqM

[@IconOfSin]

@@IDDQDSound cheers for the reply. Just gave that a shot, it gets you to 128th note resolution effectively but still stepped and doesn't have the same functionality as automating in the arranger using ReaControlMidi to automate pitch for example so you can draw in curves and quickly copy paste automation items. I know that's a bit of a fickle argument considering it's all digitised in the end, just that seeing step automation makes me feel like I'm back using Reason 4.0 lol Don't get me wrong appreciate the response and going through your vids is making Reaper way more usable for me, up until now I've been using other DAWs for midi and bouncing to mix in Reaper, keep doing what you do

[@IDDQDSound]

@@IconOfSin If you go to Preferences>Media>MIDI, there are some options there. The default tick per quarter note value is 960, with a CC segment interpolation of 32. 128/4 = 32 so essentially while values step between each 1/128th, they are interpolated 32 times, which is once a tick. At current MIDI 1.0 you can't get a finer resolution than that in any DAW. Even if these DAWs draw them not as a stepped curve, what happens behind the scenes is exactly the same as what REAPER does, REAPER is just being honest about it. In fact, I'd argue that there's a benefit to showing the steps how it is because I can still get at exact values by manually typing values per 1/128th and then calculating the interpolation. If value goes from 128 to 0 then I know each tick will reduce the value by 4, for example. Without the steps, you have less control, not more. You can even increase these numbers in the prefs, but of course, most MIDI devices and software are still gonna accept only 960 per quarter note. Maybe MIDI 2.0 will change that. So really it's just how it's drawn, which I'm sure there's benefits to doing it the honest way such as less CPU & GPU time to draw them when MIDI items are open.

[@IconOfSin]

@@IDDQDSound oh damn I hadn't considered that at all. Yeah 32 interpolations between each 128th is plenty resolution! Cheers for the info man gonna test this out now to set my mind at ease. Would make life so much easier living in the midi editor. Appreciate the thoroughness of this response my dude 👌 rock on!

[@IDDQDSound]

@@IconOfSin Totally my pleasure! You gave me a video idea!

[@locutz]

bro tbh i HATE how reaper does midi especially coming from fl studio reaper is a damn pain to use mainly for drums too

[@IDDQDSound]

Never used FL studio but what about it do you wish was in REAPER?