Reverse MIDI trick in REAPER

Here's a production trick you can try to make your MIDI melodies and chords more interesting!

The trick involves reversing your MIDI, rendering the audio, and then reversing the item again. This results in the same melody, but now it sounds reversed with some cool swell effects.

It's also super simple to do in REAPER:

Instructions

1. Once your MIDI is ready, right-click the track and select "Duplicate track".
2. Open the duplicated MIDI item, and in the Actions menu (shortcut: ?), find "Edit: Reverse all events" and run it. (You can set this action to a toolbar or shortcut to make it easier next time.)
3. Close the MIDI editor, right-click your reversed MIDI, and select "Apply track FX to items as new take (multichannel output)."
4. Now you just need to select the rendered item, open the Actions menu, and find "Item properties: Toggle take reverse." Run it (I recommend setting up a shortcut for this handy action!).
5. Done! You should now be able to hear your reversed melody. You can just use that or mix it with your original track for some cool swell effects!

That’s it!

Hope it inspired you make cool things~