Merge MIDI tracks into single track?

[Fotu]

Is there a faster way to merge the clips on multiple MIDI tracks into a single track than the method I know:
1. On a target track, create an empty lane for each source track
2. Drag the clips from each track you want to merge onto an empty lane (taking care it maintains time alignment)
3. Invoke the function to 'Merge Note Lanes on Track' for the destination tracks
4. Delete the source tracks if no longer needed.
Seems tedious, so checking if I missed something more elegant.

[selig]

Is there a faster way to merge the clips on multiple MIDI tracks into a single track than the method I know:
1. On a target track, create an empty lane for each source track
2. Drag the clips from each track you want to merge onto an empty lane (taking care it maintains time alignment)
3. Invoke the function to 'Merge Note Lanes on Track' for the destination tracks
4. Delete the source tracks if no longer needed.
Seems tedious, so checking if I missed something more elegant.

I don't think there's a faster way, as I don't think it's a common task.
Curious how you get to the point you want to take notes from different instruments and merge them all into one instrument/sound?

If this is about multiple track all playing the same sound, say Piano, then a possible workflow is to use lanes from the start.

Or maybe I'm missing something here?

Quick tip (apologies if this is something you already do):
If you have three tracks you want to combine into one track on three lanes, select all three track's clips and drag together to the new track - each track will end up on it's own lane, so you don't have to worry about alignment between the tracks.

This all takes about 5-10 seconds total (I use key commands to create the new lanes), so I wouldn't call the process "tedious" on any level. How many times a day do you need to do something like this? I find the repeated tasks to be tedious when they involve extra clicks and it's something you do constantly throughout the day, like switching tracks when editing MIDI.

[Fotu]

Curious how you get to the point you want to take notes from different instruments and merge them all into one instrument/sound?

Sometimes I'm working with a sequence that has drum kit parts all on separate tracks (even though voiced with the same instrument), whereas I don't really need that level of mixing granularity and prefer to have them in one track.

If you have three tracks you want to combine into one track on three lanes, select all three track's clips and drag together to the new track - each track will end up on it's own lane, so you don't have to worry about alignment between the tracks.

Thanks, great tip... that certainly addresses the most tedious part of the process. Trying it, I do have to pre-create the empty lanes in the destination track first, right? (i.e., no 'automatically create new lanes to accommodate incoming tracks')

[selig]

Curious how you get to the point you want to take notes from different instruments and merge them all into one instrument/sound?

Sometimes I'm working with a sequence that has drum kit parts all on separate tracks (even though voiced with the same instrument), whereas I don't really need that level of mixing granularity and prefer to have them in one track.

If you have three tracks you want to combine into one track on three lanes, select all three track's clips and drag together to the new track - each track will end up on it's own lane, so you don't have to worry about alignment between the tracks.

Thanks, great tip... that certainly addresses the most tedious part of the process. Trying it, I do have to pre-create the empty lanes in the destination track first, right? (i.e., no 'automatically create new lanes to accommodate incoming tracks')

In Reason there's no way to have more than one track for the same instrument - how are you having drum kit parts on separate tracks all voiced on the same instrument? Sequence granularity and mixing granularity are different things - separate lanes for kick/snare/hat are different than separate audio channels in the mixer (to be clear we're talking about the same thing here).

Yes, you have to create the lanes first (hit "3" on the numeric keyboard to create a new lane).

[Fotu]

In Reason there's no way to have more than one track for the same instrument - how are you having drum kit parts on separate tracks all voiced on the same instrument? Sequence granularity and mixing granularity are different things - separate lanes for kick/snare/hat are different than separate audio channels in the mixer (to be clear we're talking about the same thing here).

Hmm... not sure I follow. I often have multiple independent tracks using the 'same instrument', which just results in multiple instantiations of that instrument in the rack and in a mixer channel. Maybe we're crossing on semantics? By 'same', I mean instantiations of the same instrument, not literally the same racked instrument.

For drums, usually this occurs when I import a MIDI sequence I (or someone else) created earlier where drum, snare, hats, cymbols, etc. are each on different tracks. By default they typically come in as each on a separate track assigned to an ID8 (i.e., multiple ID8s in the rack, each feeding a separate mixer channel). To voice this in Reason, I could change the instrument assignments for each of these to some better instrument / kit, but I typically find it easier (and probably better computationally) to collapse them all into one track with one instrument and tweak that.

[changnoi]

Thanx selig simple tips works great specially with your excellent Noteview

[guitfnky]

In Reason there's no way to have more than one track for the same instrument - how are you having drum kit parts on separate tracks all voiced on the same instrument? Sequence granularity and mixing granularity are different things - separate lanes for kick/snare/hat are different than separate audio channels in the mixer (to be clear we're talking about the same thing here).

Yes, you have to create the lanes first (hit "3" on the numeric keyboard to create a new lane).

in the past I’ve routed Addictive Drums so that the individual kitpiece outputs are routed from the VST to their own mix channels, while also breaking out the MIDI tracks by the same kitpieces, as you suggest here. I know that’s not really separate tracks, but is that maybe what we’re talking about?

[Fotu]

In Reason there's no way to have more than one track for the same instrument - how are you having drum kit parts on separate tracks all voiced on the same instrument? Sequence granularity and mixing granularity are different things - separate lanes for kick/snare/hat are different than separate audio channels in the mixer (to be clear we're talking about the same thing here).

Yes, you have to create the lanes first (hit "3" on the numeric keyboard to create a new lane).

in the past I’ve routed Addictive Drums so that the individual kitpiece outputs are routed from the VST to their own mix channels, while also breaking out the MIDI tracks by the same kitpieces, as you suggest here. I know that’s not really separate tracks, but is that maybe what we’re talking about?

As for my OP, I get separate tracks (and effectively duplicate instruments) for each kitpiece as a result of importing an old MIDI file created in some other sequencer (e.g. repurposing ancient sequences from the 90s!). As Selig notes, that's likely an 'unusual' situation across all Reason users.