Free Downloads: MIDI 101, 102 (Rapid-Fire Reaper Tutorials Ep-35-43)
Hey folks! On this blog post you will find all custom actions, scales, toolbars, icons, and other goodies I mentioned in episodes 35-43 or Rapid-Fire Reaper Tutorials. They are also available in the dedicated playlist for MIDI Tutorials. I will break each down per episode but you can also download the whole package on the bottom of this post.
WARNING: Before you download these, make sure you know how they are used. You can watch the corresponding video for each download. BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD my toolbars, keymaps, and so on, make sure to save your own configurations (this video will show you how) so you don't lose any of your own customizations. Also be warned that if you download them without having SWS installed, you won't be able to use those commands. I can only give you my own custom actions. You'll have to download and install SWS yourself. Thankfully, my good friend Myk from Let's talk about Reaper has a very quick and simple tutorial on this very topic, which you can check out here.
Other actions come from Reapack, but the names are given so in case you don't have them simply search for them in Reapack and install them!
BIGGER WARNING: As requested by multiple users, I am also making my entire configurations of Reaper available for download here. Everything from all my actions, all my icons and screensets, to all my preferences, templates & so on. You are welcome to download them, import all or parts of them to your own Reaper. Just know that I can't guarantee that these changes will be to your liking, and I can't guarantee that everything will work. That said, if you have SWS installed, and you know your way around Importing configurations, you could pick and choose what you need from it. If you see any icons on my channel that you like, they are included in the download, but they do not belong to me and are all from the Reaper Stash.
UPDATE: All downloadables from this bundle are now available as a single file, instead of separate downloads, but opening the zip file you will find them organized by episode name:
IDDQD Sound - RFRT Ep36 Downloads
Download ZIP • 432KB
Episode 35 Downloads:
In this episode, I start the MIDI 101 series by showing you how I quickly use two actions to quickly insert a MIDI Track ready for jotting down ideas, or an Audio track to quickly record. I go into more detail on the audio track in episode 30.
Includes:
Two Track Templates that mimic Logic Pro X's default MIDI & Audio Tracks.
1. Default MIDI Track: This is a single track, with MIDI input selected, record arm engaged, set to record MIDI: Overdub & Replace. Paste this to your Track Templates, make sure it's alphabetically at the top, and then you can run the action 'SWS: Load Track Template 01' or bind it to Option + Command + S like Logic Pro X Does.
2. Default Audio Record Track: This is a single track, with a large meter visible, coloured white, set to record from input 1 of your interface, and with a tuner as input fx. I use this as my default recording track. Paste this to your Track Templates, making sure it's alphabetically the second TT in the list, and then you can bind the action 'SWS: Load Track Template 02' to bind it to Option + Command + A like Logic Pro X does.
Episode 36 Downloads:
In this episode, I show you my MIDI Editing workflow by demonstrating some of my most used actions and their corresponding Hotkeys.
Includes: 3 Custom Actions, My Hotkey Bindings & My MIDI Editor Hotkey Cheat Sheet
1. Move MIDI Note Down a fifth: This custom script moves selected notes down a fifth, or 7 semitones. I have this hotkey bound to Option + Numpad 5.
2. Move MIDI Note Up a fifth: This custom script moves selected notes up a fifth, or 7 semitones. I have this hotkey bound to Numpad 5.
3. Note Velocity -20: This script decreases selected notes' velocity by 20. I have this bound to G. This is simply the default action 'Edit: Note Velocity -10' chained together twice, as I find 10 in velocity values to be hard to discern in most libraries.
4. IDDQD Sound Actions & Key Bindings: This is a Reaper Config file that includes all my hotkey customizations. I still recommend you do these yourself using the cheat sheet, as loading my config will also include the Main Hotkeys. Sorry. Hopefully Reaper will later allow exporting of only one window's hotkeys.
5. IDDQD Sound One-Key Hotkeys in MIDI Editor Window Cheat Sheet: This is a simple cheat sheet including all the hotkeys I showed in the episode. Useful if you want to do the tweaking yourself and modify it to your liking. You can also use it as a cheat sheet as you memorize them.
Episode 37 Downloads:
In this episode, I show you my MIDI Editing workflow by demonstrating some of my most used mouse modifiers. This video and the last are meant to provide you with some inspiration to hopefully get into customizing your own Reaper to your liking. You can copy me or simply use your own hotkeys. Regardless, I think my MIDI editing workflow is very similar to most people who use Reaper to score, edit MIDI drums or sequence synthesizers & software instruments.
Includes: 1 Custom Action, My Mouse Maps & My MIDI Editor Mouse Mof Cheat Sheet
1. Insert Ghost Note: This is a custom MIDI Editor script that inserts a note at a velocity value 20 lower than the previous inserted note. I have this tied to my mouse modifier Control + Left Click or it can also be bound to a hotkey. Useful for quickly accessing multiple velocities as you write notes.
2. IDDQD Sound - Cursors & Keymaps 12-2020: This is a Reaper Config file that includes all my mouse modifiers. It also includes mouse mods for all menus so be warned. Or you can use the cheat sheet to quickly set your own mouse mods for the MIDI Editor contexts.
3. IDDQD Sound - Mouse Mods in MIDI Editor Cheat Sheet: This is a simple cheat sheet detailing all the mouse modifiers I use and have shown in the video.
Episode 38 Downloads:
In this episode, I'll tell you a little bit about the MIDI Filter Events window, which is a great tool for when you need to select and modify groups of notes. This window allows you to select notes of a specific pitch, length, velocity, and many more. I use it a lot to humanize my MIDI Drums, and overall polish my MIDI compositions. Very useful window.
This episode outlines a native feature in Reaper. So there are no downloads! The Filter Events window is already there and waiting for you to explore it!
Episode 39 Downloads:
In this episode, I tackle a commonly asked question I see on Reaper forums and groups. These are questions along the lines of 'Why don't my hotkeys work in the MIDI Editor window?' or 'How do I work with markers in the MIDI Editor?' or 'How do I solo tracks from the MIDI Editor'. I show you three workarounds for this. the first one requires a screenset, the second one requires SWS installed (read the 'Warning' section near the top of the post for more on that) and the third one requires you to do some customizing.
This episode is more of a workflow tutorial and has no downloads. I wanted to include my MIDI Editing screenset here, but the only way to share that with you is to share all my configurations. This will be available to download on the bottom of this page, but if you just want the screenset, it's best to watch the video and copy mine (making your own changes based on your own needs). For more on configurations, watch Episode 34 of RFRT.
Episode 40 Downloads:
In this episode I show you how to work in a given key or scale in Reaper. For this episode I will assume that you know very little about music theory, because if you do there are probably easier solutions to your problem of working in scales than some of the stuff mentioned here. The aim of this tutorial is for you to hide notes outside your scale and work with just whatever is in key for your song. This will look and act similar to the same function in Ableton live.
Includes: 13 MIDI Files each corresponding to a scale.
Bonus Download: Download the 'Create Scale' custom action to create a scale cluster from your selected root note. Useful if you want to create Tone clusters from your own scales.
Instructions:
**-**Each MIDI File is one measure long, with notes from a given scale in it. Drag one into your project.
-The root notes for all the scales is C, so if you want to be in, say, Db Phrygian, simply load C phrygian scale and transpose it up one semitone by pressing Numpad 8.
**-**right drag to select all the notes in the scale, and duplicate them up and down as many octaves as you want, based on your instrument range. There are reaper hotkeys for duplicating notes up and down an octave in the MIDI Editor window. I have mine set to Option + Shift + Numpad 8 and Option + Shift + Numpad 2.
-Run the command 'Show only used note rows' from the action list, or add it to your MIDI toolbar for ease of access. Additionally add the command 'Show all note rows' to exit this mode whenever you want.
-After setting the range, you can MIDI edit while only seeing notes in key and in range for your instrument, without needing to use key snapping, or calculating which Major Key has the A# Lydian mode in it.
Episode 41 Downloads:
In this episode, I show you a few ways of working with multiple MIDI instruments from one window. Each workflow has its advantages and disadvantages, as the video will cover.
Note: I forgot to mention something in the video: In the track list, if you want more differentiation between your Notes from different tracks, you can color them based on source. On the bottom of your MIDI Editor window, if you click on color, you can select 'source' and each track's MIDI notes will be colored differently.
Includes: My custom menus and toolbars, including the channel MIDI Toolbar shown in this video. You can also make your own by creating a toolbar and putting the actions for 'Set Channel for new events to 01-16' and finding the default number icons for each one and setting it to those. If you download my toolbars, you will get everything. You can additionally import them into a portable install of reaper, open your own, copy and paste. (I think that's possible! Comment here if it doesn't!)
Episode 42 Downloads:
In this episode, I will show you tons of cool tricks for quickly creating MIDI keymaps that Reaper can read, so that you can name your MIDI notes when using drum plugins or Keyswitch instruments. The volume of downloads from this episode is high and it is going to be updated regularly, so I have dedicated a blog post to this episode alone, which you can find here. This is the video which explains the process:
Episode 43 Downloads:
In this episode I will show you 2 custom actions that are useful for various of duplicating MIDI Notes based on your needs.
Includes: 2 Custom actions for duplicating MIDI Notes.
1. Duplicate MIDI Passage: This custom action copies selected notes, then pastes them right after the last note, wherever that may be. This works better than the default Command + D Action because it works for passages shorter than one measure. My hotkey for this is V.
2. Paste Notes to Edit Cursor: Normally you can copy selected notes by Command + C and paste them anywhere by pressing Command + V, but this custom action copies and pastes in one action so it's a bit faster. My Hotkey for this is Control + V.
So there we are. If I make more MIDI-related episodes I will update this blog post to include those as well.
Episode 45 Downloads:
In this episode, I show you a cool custom action to send one MIDI item to multiple soft synths for layering.
Includes: Custom action to send MIDI from track under mouse cursor to selected tracks. Watch the video for instructions. Must be bound to a hotkey.
My Entire Reaper Configuration File:
You have been warned multiple times to use this only after you save all your configurations. If you want it, send an email to info@iddqdsound.com to get the most up-to-date version. Since I host my webpage on Git, the configuration file is too big to be hosted here!
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