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How to Play MIDI Drums in Reason

Reason is a powerful computer-based audio editor built and sold by Swedish developer Propellerhead. It's a relative of the company's hugely influential ReBirth program, which was popular with dance-music producers during the '90s. It comes preloaded with a rack of virtual instruments and a versatile drum machine, ReDrum, which features a bank of sounds and kits. You can load a host of samples to ReDrum as it supports a range of file formats and apply effects from the program's plug-ins.

Things You'll Need

  • USB MIDI keyboard or drum pads
  • USB cable
  • Computer speakers or amplifier
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Instructions

    • 1

      Connect your MIDI unit to your computer using the USB cable.

    • 2

      Launch Reason from the icon on your desktop or from the start menu.

    • 3

      Turn your computer's speakers on.

    • 4

      Right click on a blank area on the top half of the screen and select "Mixer 14:2." An instance of Reason's mixer will load as the first element of your chain at the top of the screen.

    • 5

      Right click on a blank area in the top half of the screen again and select "ReDrum Drum Computer." An instance of ReDrum will be loaded below the mixer and routed through channel one.

    • 6

      Play each drum part using your MIDI keyboard or drum pads.

Digital Music

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