Reasonable Live Player (RLP)

Reasonable Live Player automates live set playback in Reason. It opens Reason song files in sequence and advances to the next song when a MIDI trigger note is received — hands-free transitions for live performance.

Looking for macOS? See ReasonableLivePlayer-Mac.

Features

• Build and save playlists of .reason / .rns song files
• Drag and drop files from Windows Explorer into the playlist
• Reorder songs by dragging within the list
• Advance to the next song automatically via a MIDI trigger note
• Skip, pause, and resume the playlist at any time
• Select the next song to play while paused
• Configurable MIDI device, channel, and trigger note
• Configurable transition delay between songs
• Always-on-top mode for live use
• Remembers your last playlist on startup

System Requirements

Requirement	Details
Operating System	Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
Reason	Reason 13 (or later) installed — RLP opens .reason / .rns files via shell association
.NET Runtime	.NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime (x64) — download the Desktop Runtime, not just the base runtime
Virtual MIDI Driver	LoopBe1 (free, recommended) or any virtual MIDI loopback driver

Why a virtual MIDI driver?

RLP listens for a MIDI note to know when to advance to the next song. Reason sends that note out through an External MIDI Instrument device in the rack. A virtual MIDI driver like LoopBe1 creates an internal MIDI cable that connects Reason's output to RLP's input — no physical hardware needed.

Installation

1. Install the .NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime (x64) if you don't already have it.
2. Install LoopBe1 (or another virtual MIDI loopback driver).
3. Download ReasonableLivePlayer.exe:
   • Pre-built: grab the latest from the Releases page (when available).
   • Build it yourself: see Building from Source below.
4. Place it anywhere you like and run it — no installer needed.

Quick Start

1. Open RLP and click ＋ (or drag .reason files from Explorer) to build your playlist.
2. Click ⚙ (Settings) and select your virtual MIDI device (e.g. "LoopBe Internal MIDI"), channel, and trigger note number.
3. The MIDI indicator dot turns green when connected.
4. Press ▶ to start — RLP opens the first song in Reason.
5. When Reason plays the trigger note, RLP closes the current song and opens the next one.

Setting Up Reason Songs

Each song in your set needs a small bit of setup so it can tell RLP when to advance. This is done using Reason's External MIDI Instrument device.

Step-by-step

1. Create an External MIDI Instrument device

   • In Reason's rack, right-click and choose Create > Players > External MIDI Instrument.

2. Configure its MIDI output

   • On the External MIDI Instrument panel, set the MIDI Output to your virtual MIDI device (e.g. "LoopBe Internal MIDI").
   • Set the MIDI Channel to match the channel configured in RLP Settings (default: channel 1).

3. Add a trigger note in the sequencer

   • Create a sequencer lane for the External MIDI Instrument.
   • At the point in the song where you want RLP to advance (typically the very end), draw a single note.
   • The note's pitch must match the trigger note number configured in RLP Settings (default: C0 / note 0).
   • The note can be very short — RLP only needs the note-on event.

4. Test it

   • Start RLP with at least two songs in the playlist and press ▶.
   • Play the Reason song. When it reaches the trigger note, RLP should close it and open the next song.

Tips

• Keep a blank or "standby" Reason file open in the background to keep Reason loaded in memory. This makes song transitions faster.
• If the next song doesn't open reliably, increase the Transition Delay in RLP Settings (default: 5 seconds). This gives Reason time to finish closing the previous song.
• You can use any note number as the trigger — just make sure RLP Settings and the External MIDI Instrument note match.
• LoopBe1 is free for personal use and installs a single virtual MIDI port, which is all RLP needs.

Toolbar Reference

Button	Action
▶ / ⏸	Play or pause the playlist
⏭	Skip to the next song
＋	Add .reason / .rns files
💾	Save playlist (.rlp)
📂	Open a saved playlist
⚙	Settings (MIDI device, channel, note, transition delay)
📌	Toggle always-on-top
?	Help

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/t8bloom1/ReasonableLivePlayer.git
cd ReasonableLivePlayer

# Build
dotnet build ReasonableLivePlayer/ReasonableLivePlayer.csproj

# Run tests
dotnet test ReasonableLivePlayer.Tests/ReasonableLivePlayer.Tests.csproj

# Publish single-file executable
dotnet publish ReasonableLivePlayer/ReasonableLivePlayer.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 -o dist

The published executable will be at dist/ReasonableLivePlayer.exe.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.