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Chiptune, also called 8-bit music (although not all chiptune is 8-bit music), is a style of
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
made using the
programmable sound generator A programmable sound generator (PSG) is a sound chip that generates (or synthesizes) audio wave signals built from one or more basic waveforms, and often some kind of noise. PSGs use a relatively simple method of creating sound compared to other m ...
(PSG)
sound chip A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process a ...
s or
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s in vintage
arcade machines An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...
,
computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
s and
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...
s. The term is commonly used to refer to tracker format music using extremely basic and small samples that an old computer or console could produce (this is the original meaning of the term), as well as music that combines PSG sounds with modern musical styles. It has been described as "an interpretation of many genres". Any existing song can be arranged in a chiptune style. It can be defined by choice of instrument, by
timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
more than specific style elements.


Technology

A
waveform generator A signal generator is one of a class of electronic devices that generates electrical signals with set properties of amplitude, frequency, and wave shape. These generated signals are used as a stimulus for electronic measurements, typically used ...
is a fundamental module in a sound synthesis system. A waveform generator usually produces a basic geometrical waveform with a fixed or variable
timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
and variable pitch. Common waveform generator configurations usually included two or three simple waveforms and often a single pseudo-random-noise generator (PRNG). Available
waveform In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its Graph of a function, graph as a function of time, independent of its time and Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude Scale (ratio), scales and of any dis ...
s often included
pulse wave A pulse wave or pulse train or rectangular wave is a non-sinusoidal waveform that is the periodic version of the rectangular function. It is held high a percent each cycle ( period) called the duty cycle and for the remainder of each cycle is ...
(whose
timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
can be varied by modifying the
duty cycle A duty cycle or power cycle is the fraction of one period in which a signal or system is active. Duty cycle is commonly expressed as a percentage or a ratio. A period is the time it takes for a signal to complete an on-and-off cycle. As a for ...
),
square wave Square wave may refer to: *Square wave (waveform) A square wave is a non-sinusoidal waveform, non-sinusoidal periodic waveform in which the amplitude alternates at a steady frequency between fixed minimum and maximum values, with the same ...
(a symmetrical pulse wave producing only odd overtones),
triangle wave A triangular wave or triangle wave is a non-sinusoidal waveform named for its triangular shape. It is a periodic, piecewise linear, continuous real function. Like a square wave, the triangle wave contains only odd harmonics. However, t ...
(which has a fixed timbre containing only odd
harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...
s but is softer than a square wave), and
sawtooth wave The sawtooth wave (or saw wave) is a kind of non-sinusoidal waveform. It is so named based on its resemblance to the teeth of a plain-toothed saw with a zero rake angle. A single sawtooth, or an intermittently triggered sawtooth, is called a ...
(which has a bright raspy timbre and contains odd and even harmonics). Two notable examples of systems employing this technology were the
Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
portable game console and the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
personal computer. The Game Boy uses two pulse channels (switchable between 12.5%, 25%, 50% and 75% wave duty cycle), a channel for a 4-bit waveform generator, and a pseudo-random-noise generator. The Commodore 64 however used the
MOS Technology SID The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID (Sound Interface Device) is the built-in programmable sound generator chip of the Commodore CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and MAX Machine home computers. Together with the MOS Technology VIC-II, VIC-II gr ...
chip which offered 3 channels, each switchable between pulse, saw-tooth, triangle, and noise. Unlike the Game Boy, the pulse channels on the Commodore 64 allowed full control over wave duty cycles. The SID was a very technically advanced chip, offering many other features including ring modulation and adjustable resonance filters. Due to the limited number of voices in early sound chips, one of the main challenges is to produce rich
polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...
music with them. The usual method to emulate it is via quick
arpeggio An arpeggio () is a type of Chord (music), chord in which the Musical note, notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords. Arpe ...
s, which is one of the most relevant features of chiptune music (along with its electronic timbres). Some older systems featured a simple beeper as their only sound output, as the original
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
and
IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...
; despite this, many skilled programmers were able to produce unexpectedly rich music with this bare hardware, where the sound is fully generated by the system's
CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary processor in a given computer. Its electronic circuitry executes instructions of a computer program, such as arithmetic, log ...
by direct control of the beeper.


History


1951–1979: Precursors

The earliest precursors to chip music can be found in the early history of
computer music Computer music is the application of computing technology in music composition, to help human composers create new music or to have computers independently create music, such as with algorithmic composition programs. It includes the theory and ...
. In 1951, the computers
CSIRAC CSIRAC (; ''Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer''), originally known as CSIR Mk 1, was Australia's first digital computer, and the fifth stored-program computer in the world. It is the oldest surviving first-gene ...
and
Ferranti Mark 1 The Ferranti Mark 1, also known as the Manchester Electronic Computer in its sales literature, and thus sometimes called the Manchester Ferranti, was produced by British electrical engineering firm Ferranti Ltd. It was the world's first commer ...
were used to perform real-time synthesized digital music in public. One of the earliest commercial computer music albums came from the First Philadelphia Computer Music Festival, held August 25, 1978, as part of the Personal Computing '78 show. The First Philadelphia Computer Music Festival recordings were published by Creative Computing in 1979. The
Global TV The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
program '' Science International'' (1976–1979) credited a PDP-11/10 for the music.


Mid-1970s–1980s: Video game origins

Chiptune music began to appear with the
video game music Video game music (VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to t ...
produced during the
golden age of video arcade games The golden age of arcade video games was the period of rapid growth, technological development, and cultural influence of arcade video games from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The release of ''Space Invaders'' in 1978 led to a wave of shoo ...
. An early example was the opening tune in
Tomohiro Nishikado is a Japanese video game developer and engineer. He is the creator of the arcade shoot 'em up game ''Space Invaders'', released to the public in 1978 by the Taito Corporation of Japan, often credited as the first shoot 'em up and for beginnin ...
's
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...
''
Gun Fight ''Gun Fight'', known as in Japan and Europe, is a 1975 multidirectional shooter arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Midway in North America. Based around two Old West cowboys ar ...
'' (1975). The first video game to use a continuous background soundtrack was Tomohiro Nishikado's 1978 release ''
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...
'', which had four simple
chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...
descending
bass note In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice (the note furthest in the bass.) Three situations are possible: # ...
s repeating in a loop, though it was dynamic and interacted with the player, increasing pace as the enemies descended on the player. The first video game to feature continuous melodic
background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...
was ''
Rally-X is a maze chase arcade video game developed in Japan and Germany by Namco and released in 1980. In North America, it was distributed by Midway Manufacturing and in Europe by Karateco. Players drive a blue Formula One race car through a multidi ...
'', an arcade game released by
Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...
in 1980, featuring a simple tune that repeats continuously during
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...
. It was also one of the earliest games to use a
digital-to-analog converter In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC, D/A, D2A, or D-to-A) is a system that converts a digital signal into an analog signal. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse function. DACs are commonly used in musi ...
to produce
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...
sounds. That same year, the first video game to feature
speech synthesis Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal langua ...
was also released,
Sunsoft , is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, video game developer and publisher. They are known for their video games under the brand name Sunsoft. History In April 1971, Sun Electronics Corporation (alternatively called Sun Denshi) was founded i ...
's
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
arcade game '' Stratovox''. In the late 1970s, the pioneering
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
/
electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...
group
Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (abbreviated to YMO) was a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals, occasional keyboards) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, ...
(YMO) were using computers to produce synthesized music. Some of their early music, including their 1978 self-titled debut album, were sampling sounds from popular arcade games such as ''Space Invaders'' and ''Gun Fight''. In addition to incorporating sounds from contemporary video games into their music, the band would later have a major influence on much of the video game and chiptune music produced during the
8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...
and 16-bit eras.
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
's 1982 arcade game ''
Super Locomotive is a side-scrolling Train simulator, train action video game developed by Sega and released for Arcade game, arcades in 1982. Gameplay The objective of the game is to guide a train from one station to next. Along the route, the player must avo ...
'' for example featured a chiptune
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of YMO's "
Rydeen ''Solid State Survivor'' is the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Later, ''Solid State Survivor'' was released in 1982 in the UK on LP and cassette, also in 1992 in the United States on CD, bu ...
" (1979); several later
computer games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
also covered the song, such as ''Trooper Truck'' (1983) by
Rabbit Software Rabbit Software was an English software company which produced video games for home computers such as the ZX Spectrum, VIC-20, and Commodore 64 in the early to mid-1980s. Rabbit's later software packaging was slightly different from that of the ...
as well as ''
Daley Thompson's Decathlon ''Daley Thompson's Decathlon'' is an Olympic-themed sports video game developed and released by Ocean Software in 1984. It was released in the wake of Daley Thompson's popularity following his gold medals in the decathlon at the 1980 and 1984 ...
'' (1984) and ''
Stryker's Run ''Stryker's Run'' is a video game designed by Chris Roberts and Philip Meller for the BBC Micro and BBC Master which was published by Superior Software in 1986. It was also later converted to the Acorn Electron. It is a 2D side-scrolling action ...
'' (1986) arranged by
Martin Galway Martin Galway (born 3 January 1966, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is one of the best known composers of chiptune video game music for the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum. His works include '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'', '' Comic Bakery'' and ...
. By 1983,
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
's arcade game ''
Gyruss is shoot 'em up arcade video game designed by Yoshiki Okamoto and released by Konami in 1983. ''Gyruss'' was initially licensed to Centuri in the United States for dedicated machines, before Konami released their own self-distributed conversion ...
'' utilized five sound chips along with a digital-to-analog converter, which were partly used to create an electronic rendition of J. S. Bach's '' Toccata and Fugue in D minor''. In 1984, former YMO member
Haruomi Hosono , sometimes credited as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in Japanese pop music history, credited with shaping the sound of Japanese pop f ...
released an album produced entirely from Namco arcade game samples entitled ''Video Game Music'', an early example of a chiptune record and the first video game music album. The record featured the work of Namco's chiptune composers: Toshio Kai (''
Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...
'' in 1980), Nobuyuki Ohnogi (''
Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to ''Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling ...
'', ''
New Rally-X is a List of maze video games, maze chase arcade video game released by Namco in 1981. It is a lightly tweaked version of 1980's ''Rally-X'', with slightly enhanced graphics, easier gameplay, a new soundtrack, and a "Lucky Flag" that gives the ...
'' and ''
Bosconian is a scrolling multidirectional shooter arcade video game developed and released by Namco in Japan in 1981. In North America, it was manufactured and distributed by Midway Games. The goal is to earn as many points as possible by destroying enem ...
'' in 1981, and ''
Pole Position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
'' in 1982), and Yuriko Keino (''
Dig Dug is a maze arcade video game released by Namco in 1982. It was distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player digs underground tunnels to attack enemies in each level, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rock ...
'' and ''
Xevious is a 1983 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It was released in Japan by Namco and in North America by Atari, Inc. Controlling the Solvalou starship, the player attacks Xevious forces befor ...
'' in 1982).


Early 1980s–1994: FM synthesis

A major advance for chip music was the introduction of
frequency modulation synthesis Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of Synthesizer#Sound synthesis, sound synthesis whereby the frequency of a waveform is changed by Frequency modulation, modulating its frequency with a modulator. The instantaneous frequen ...
(FM synthesis), first commercially released by
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...
for their
digital synthesizer A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds, in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digital rec ...
s and FM
sound chip A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process a ...
s, which began appearing in arcade machines from the early 1980s. Arcade game composers utilizing FM synthesis at the time included Konami's
Miki Higashino is a Japanese video game composer best known for her works in the ''Suikoden'' series. Biography Miki Higashino first began composing video game music as a student employed by Konami and contributed to various minor products, often uncredited o ...
(''
Gradius is a series of shooter ( shoot'em up) video games, introduced in 1985, developed and published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. ...
'', ''
Yie-Ar Kung Fu () is an arcade fighting game developed and published by Konami. It first had a limited Japanese release in October 1984, before having a wide release nationwide in January 1985 and then internationally in March. Along with ''Karate Champ'' (198 ...
'', ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'') and
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
's Hiroshi Kawaguchi (''
Space Harrier is a third-person arcade rail shooter game developed by Sega and released in 1985. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but techni ...
'', ''
Hang-On is an arcade racing game released by Sega in 1985 and later ported to the Master System. In the game, the player controls a motorcycle against time and other computer-controlled bikes. It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit computi ...
'', ''
Out Run (also stylized as ''OutRun'') is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, and ...
''). By the early 1980s, significant improvements to
personal computer game A personal computer game, or abbreviated PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer (PC). The term ''PC game'' has been popularly used since the 1990s referring specifically to games on "Wintel" (Micr ...
music were made possible with the introduction of
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
FM synthesis sound.
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...
began manufacturing FM synth boards for Japanese computers such as the
NEC PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the four major Japane ...
and
PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or simply , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit Personal computer, personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2003. While based on Intel processors, it uses an in-house architecture making it inc ...
in the early 1980s, and by the mid-1980s, the PC-8801 and
FM-7 The FM-7 ("Fujitsu Micro 7") is a home computer created by Fujitsu. It was first released in 1982 and was sold in Japan and Spain. It is a stripped-down version of Fujitsu's earlier FM-8 computer, and during development it was referred to as th ...
had built-in FM sound. This allowed computer game music to have greater complexity than the simplistic
beeps The Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) is an extensive economic survey undertaken as a joint initiative of the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The BEEPS surveys are conducted in the ...
from internal speakers. These FM synth boards produced a "warm and pleasant sound" that musicians such as
Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer and sound programmer. He is often regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, producing music in a number of genres including rock, jazz, symphonic, and various electronic genres s ...
and
Takeshi Abo is a Japanese video game composer. He joined the industry through developer StarCraft, Inc. in the early 1990s, mainly working on conversions of Western video games. In the mid-1990s, he joined KID. After KID declared bankruptcy in December 200 ...
utilized to produce music that is still highly regarded within the chiptune community. Reprinted from In the early 1980s, Japanese
personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...
s such as the NEC PC-88 and PC-98 featured
audio programming language This is a list of notable programming languages optimized for sound production, algorithmic composition, and sound synthesis. * ABC notation, a language for notating music using the ASCII character set Bol Processor a model of formal grammars enri ...
s such as
Music Macro Language Music Macro Language (MML) is a music description language used in sequencing music on computer and video game systems. Background Early automatic music generation functions were used in arcade video games, which used many computer sounds. Ea ...
(MML) and
MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...
interfaces, which were most often used to produce video game music. Fujitsu also released the ''FM Sound Editor'' software for the FM-7 in 1985, providing users with a user-friendly interface to create and edit synthesized music. In 1987, FM synthesis became available for Western computers when Canadian company
Ad Lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The roughly synonymous phrase ('in acc ...
released the AdLib Music Synthesizer Card for the
IBM Personal Computer The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a ...
, while Singapore-based
Creative Labs Creative Technology Ltd., or Creative Labs Pte Ltd., is a Singaporean multinational electronics company mainly dealing with audio technologies and products such as speakers, headphones, sound cards and other digital media. Founded by Sim Wong ...
incorporated the AdLib card's sound chip into its
Sound Blaster Sound Blaster is a family of sound cards and audio peripherals designed by Creative Technology, Creative Technology/Creative Labs of Singapore. The first Sound Blaster card was introduced in 1989. Sound Blaster sound cards were the de facto stan ...
card in 1989. Both cards were widely supported by
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
game developers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The widespread adoption of FM synthesis by consoles would later be one of the major advances of the
16-bit era In the history of video games, the fourth generation of video game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in Nort ...
, by which time 16-bit arcade machines were using multiple FM synthesis chips. A major chiptune composer during this period was
Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer and sound programmer. He is often regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, producing music in a number of genres including rock, jazz, symphonic, and various electronic genres s ...
. Despite later advances in audio technology, he would continue to use older PC-8801 hardware to produce chiptune soundtracks for series such as ''
Streets of Rage ''Streets of Rage'' (titled ''Bare Knuckle'' in Japan) is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up video games. It centers on the efforts of several ex-police vigilantes trying to rid the fictional American metropolis of Wood Oak City of a crime ...
'' (1991–1994) and ''
Etrian Odyssey ''Etrian Odyssey'' is a dungeon crawler role-playing video game series. It is primarily developed and published by Atlus and currently owned by Sega. By 2016, the series had sold a combined total of 1.5 million copies worldwide. Each installme ...
'' (2007–present). His soundtrack to '' The Revenge of Shinobi'' (1989) featured
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
and progressive
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
compositions that fused
electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...
with traditional
Japanese music In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern.ref> The word for "music" in Japanese language, Japanese is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the kanji 音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comf ...
.
The soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...
for ''
Streets of Rage 2 ''Streets of Rage 2'', known as ''Bare Knuckle II'' in Japan, is a 1992 beat 'em up game developed and published by Sega for the Genesis. The sequel to ''Streets of Rage'' (1991), the characters Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding return while the ga ...
'' (1992) is considered "revolutionary" and "ahead of its time" for its " blend of swaggering house
synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...
,
dirty Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...
electro-funk Electro (also known as electro-funk, and sometimes referred to as electro-pop)
Gl ...
and trancey electronic textures that would feel as comfortable in a
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
as a video game." For the soundtrack to ''
Streets of Rage 3 ''Streets of Rage 3'' is a 1994 beat 'em up, beat 'em up game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis, Genesis. It is the third installment of the ''Streets of Rage'' series and the last game in the original trilogy. The game inclu ...
'' (1994), Koshiro created a new composition method called the "Automated Composing System" to produce "fast-beat techno like
jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...
", resulting in innovative and experimental sounds generated automatically. Koshiro also composed chiptune soundtracks for series such as ''
Dragon Slayer A dragonslayer is a person who slays dragons in mythology and fantasy. Dragonslayer or Dragon Slayer may also refer to: Books *'' The Dragonslayer'', a book in the ''Bone'' series *'' Dragon Slayers' Academy'', a series of books * ''Dragonsla ...
'', '' Ys'', ''
Shinobi A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
'', and ''
ActRaiser is a 1990 video game developed by Quintet and published by Enix for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It combines traditional side-scrolling platforming and sections with city building elements. A sequel, '' ActRaiser 2'', was releas ...
''. Another important FM synth composer was the late Ryu Umemoto, who composed chiptune soundtracks for various
visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...
and
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
games.


1986–present: SID music culture

MOS 6581 and 8580 Commodore 64 SID chips Later on, several demo groups moved to using their own music instead of ripped game music. In 1986, Jeroen "Red" Kimmel studied
Rob Hubbard Rob Hubbard (born 1955) is a British composer best known for his musical and programming work for microcomputers of the 1980s, such as the Commodore 64. Biography Early life and career Hubbard was born in 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, England. Hu ...
's player routine and used it for original demo songs before writing a routine of his own in 1987. Hobbyists were also writing their own dedicated music editor software, such as
Chris Hülsbeck Christopher Hülsbeck (born 2 March 1968), known internationally as Chris Huelsbeck, is a German video game music composer. He gained popularity for his work on game soundtracks for '' The Great Giana Sisters'' and the ''Turrican'' series. Caree ...
's ''Soundmonitor'' which was released as a type-in listing in a 1986 issue of the German C-64 magazine '' 64'er''. The practice of SID music composition has continued seamlessly until this day in conjunction with the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
demoscene. The High Voltage SID Collection, a comprehensive archive of SID music, contains over 55,000 pieces of SID music.


Mainstream popularity

The heyday of chiptune music was the 1980s. The earliest commercial chiptune records produced entirely from sampling
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...
sounds have existed since the mid-1980s, an early example being
Haruomi Hosono , sometimes credited as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in Japanese pop music history, credited with shaping the sound of Japanese pop f ...
's ''Video Game Music'' in 1984. Though entirely chiptune records were uncommon at the time, many mainstream musicians in the
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
,
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
and
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
genres were sampling arcade game sounds and bleeps during the
golden age of video arcade games The golden age of arcade video games was the period of rapid growth, technological development, and cultural influence of arcade video games from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The release of ''Space Invaders'' in 1978 led to a wave of shoo ...
(late 1970s to mid-1980s), as early as
Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (abbreviated to YMO) was a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals, occasional keyboards) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, ...
's "
Computer Game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...
" in 1978.
Buckner & Garcia Buckner & Garcia was an American musical duo consisting of Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia from Akron, Ohio. Their first recording was made in 1972, when they performed a novelty song called "Gotta Hear the Beat", which they recorded as Animal Ja ...
's " Pac-Man Fever" and the album of the same name were major hits in 1982. Arcade game sounds were one of the foundational elements of the
electro music Electro (also known as electro-funk, and sometimes referred to as electro-pop)
Gl ...
genre, which in turn inspired many other
electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...
genres such as
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
and
house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...
, which were sometimes referred to as " bleep music". ''
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...
'' inspired Player One's "Space Invaders" (1979), which in turn provided the
bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...
for
Jesse Saunders Jesse Saunders (born on 10 March 1962) is an American house music musician, DJ, record producer, film producer, and entrepreneur. His 1984 single, ''" On & On"'', co-written with Vince Lawrence, is widely regarded as one of the first house musi ...
' "On and On" (1984), the first
Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the original house music of DJs and producers from the area, such as Ron Hardy and Phuture History and origins D ...
track.
Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a D ...
's record "
Testone Testone is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Elise Testone (born 1983), American singer-songwriter * Gaspare Testone (1704–1801), Italian painter and architect See also * Testoni Testoni is an Italian surname. Notabl ...
" (1990) by Sweet Exorcist sampled video game sounds from Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Computer Game" and defined Sheffield's
bleep techno Bleep techno (or simply bleep) is a regional subgenre of techno which developed in the late 1980s in Northern England, particularly Yorkshire. Named after its minimalistic synthesizer sounds, bleep techno combined influences from American ...
scene in the early 1990s. After the 1980s, however, chiptune music began declining in popularity. Since then, up until the 2000s, chip music was rarely performed live and the songs were nearly exclusively spread as executable programs and other computer file formats. Some of the earliest examples of record label releases of pure chip music can be found in the late 1990s. Chiptune music began gaining popularity again towards the end of the 1990s. The first
electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...
record,
I-F I-f (also Interr-Ference) is the stage name of Ferenc E. van der Sluijs, a Dutch producer and DJ based in The Hague. He is a former member of the Dutch techno-pioneers Unit Moebius. Overview In 1997 he produced the track "Space Invaders Are S ...
's "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" (1997), has been described as "burbling electro in a vocodered homage to Atari-era hi-jinks". By the mid-2000s, 8-bit chip music began making a comeback in mainstream pop music, when it was used by acts such as
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
(for example, the 2005 song "
Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. '' daughter'' or '' girlfriend'' regardless of age ...
"),
The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...
(for example, the 2004 song " On Top"),
No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. For most of its career, the band has consisted of vocalist and founding member Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young. Keyboar ...
with the song "
Running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...
", and particularly
The Postal Service The Postal Service was an American indie pop group from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Dntel, Jimmy Tamborello (also known by his stage name, Dntel), and Jenny Lewis on background vocals. The band relea ...
in many of their songs. The low-quality digital
PCM Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to Digital signal (signal processing), digitally represent analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, compact discs, digital telephony and other digital audio application ...
styling of early game music composers such as Hiroshi Kawaguchi also began gaining popularity. In 2003, the
J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...
girl group
Perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...
,
English translation
)
along with producer
Yasutaka Nakata is a Japanese music producer and DJ. He formed the group capsule (band), capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer and record producer. The group debuted in 2001 with the song "Sakura". He is known for being the ...
, began producing music combining chiptunes with
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
and
electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including ...
; their breakthrough came in 2007 with ''
Game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...
'', which led to other Japanese female artists using a similar electronic style, including
Aira Mitsuki is a Japanese singer. She debuted on August 8, 2007 with "Colorful Tokyo Sounds No. 9" and released her debut album, '' Copy'' on September 3, 2008. Musical background and releases Aira was chosen as the winner of Mega Trance 2007 from 6,325 ...
,
immi Mayu Nakazawa (中澤真由 ''Nakazawa Mayu''), known by the stage name immi, is a Japanese Electronica singer and songwriter. She is signed onto DefStar Records. While she writes and composes her own music, she is also regularly produced by N ...
,
Mizca is a Japanese pop singer. Born and raised in Toyota, Aichi, Mitsuoka debuted in the girl group Sister Q under the stage name MASAMI in 2005. After the group disbanded of unknown reasons in October 2006, she signed a contract with Pony Canyon an ...
,
SAWA Sawa may refer to: Places * Saveh, sometimes transliterated Sāwa, a city in Iran * Sawa Lake, Iraq * Sawa District in Gunma Prefecture, Japan * Sawa, Nepal, a village development committee * Sawa, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, a village in Polan ...
,
Saori@destiny Saori@destiny (pronounced "Saori at Destiny"; born June 10, 1986) is a Japanese singer-lyricist. She made her independent debut on December 5, 2007, with the single "My Boy", followed by her major-label debut single "Sakura" on March 26, 2008 un ...
, and
Sweet Vacation Sweet Vacation(スウィート・バケイション)is a Japanese music unit made of members Hayakawa Daichi and Thai vocalist May. Both come from a history of high level universities. Hayakawa left Tokyo University's Graduate School before gr ...
. Electro house producer
Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...
started his career in the late 1990s, with a chiptune and demoscene movements-influenced sound. Three self-released compilations, Project 56, deadmau5 Circa 1998–2002 and
A Little Oblique The following is a comprehensive discography of Deadmau5, a Canadian record producer and DJ. His discography most notably comprises eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, one soundtrack album, two video albums, seven mix albums, eleven ex ...
, were finished in 2006. In 2007, the entirely chiptune album '' 8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk'' was released on major mainstream label
Astralwerks Astralwerks (or Astralwerks Records) is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music that is now owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in ...
/
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
Records, which included several prominent and noted chipmusicians, including Nanoloop creator Oliver Wittchow, and LittleSoundDJ creator Johan Kotlinski who appears as the artist ''Role Model''. Kraftwerk founding member Ralf Hütter personally selected the tracks. A vinyl 12-inch single version was released on February 24, 2007 as a precursor to the full-length CD, and reached as high as number 17 on the ''Billboard'' magazine Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart. In March 2007, the CD release reached as high as number 1 on the ''CMJ RPM'' (North American college Electronic) charts. Edinburgh-born electronic musician Unicorn Kid has helped further popularize chiptune, especially with the song "True Love Fantasy" and other songs from the EP "Tidal Rave" being played on late night radio, including on BBC Radio 1, where he played live on the Festive Festival 2011. In Canada, Eightcubed and Crystal Castles (band), Crystal Castles helped the popularity further via the Toronto underground club scene and created a lasting impression with the music video "Heart Invaders" debuting on MuchMusic in 2008 and the single "Alice Practice" hitting 29th on NME "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". During the late 2000s, a new wave of chiptune culture took place, boosted by the release of software such as lsdj
-> LittleSoundDJ for the Game Boy family, Game Boy. This new culture has much more emphasis on live performances and record releases than the demoscene and tracker culture, of which the new artists are often only distantly aware. In recent years, 8-bit chiptune sounds, or "video game beats", have been used by a number of mainstream pop artists. Examples include artists such as Kesha (most notably in "Tik Tok (song), Tik Tok", the List of best-selling singles, best-selling single of 2010), 50 Cent with the hit single "Ayo Technology", Robyn, Snoop Dogg,
Translation
)
Eminem (for example, "Hellbound"), Nelly Furtado, and Timbaland . The influence of video game sounds can also be heard in contemporary British electronica music by artists such as Dizzee Rascal and Kieran Hebden, as well as in Heavy metal music, heavy metal bands such as DragonForce. Grime music, Grime music in particular samples sawtooth wave sounds from video games which were popular in East (London sub region), East London. Some dubstep producers have also been influenced by video game chiptunes, particularly the work of
Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer and sound programmer. He is often regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, producing music in a number of genres including rock, jazz, symphonic, and various electronic genres s ...
. In 2010, a BBC article stated that the "sights and sounds of Retrogaming, old-school games" (naming ''Frogger'' and ''Donkey Kong'' as examples) are "now becoming a part of mainstream music and culture." Complextro pioneer Porter Robinson has also cited video game sounds, or chiptunes, as an influence on his style of music along with 1980s analog synthesizer, analog synth music. In 2022, trap music producer Popstar Benny cited video game sounds as one of the foundations for the plugg music genre.


Tracker chiptunes

The Amiga, Commodore Amiga (1985) with its sample-based sound generation distanced the concept of microcomputer music away from plain chip-synthesized sounds. Amiga music tracker, tracker music software, beginning from Karsten Obarski's Ultimate Soundtracker (1987), inspired great numbers of computer enthusiasts to create computer music. As an offshoot of the burgeoning tracker music culture, a type of tracker music reminiscent of Commodore 64 SID music was born, that utilized simple waveforms instead of digitized samples. This type of music came to be called "chiptunes", referring to the sound of early video game console and home computer sound chips. Earliest examples of tracker chiptunes date back to 1989 and are attributed to the demoscene musicians 4mat, Baroque, Mark Knight (sound designer), TDK, Turtle and Duz. Tracker chiptunes are based on very short looped waveforms which are modulated by tracker effects such as
arpeggio An arpeggio () is a type of Chord (music), chord in which the Musical note, notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords. Arpe ...
, vibrato, and portamento. A very common loop length is 128 samples, which at an approximate sample rate of 17 kHz misses a C note by a few Cent (music), cents. There is at least one commercial game for the Amiga, Nebulus II, that used chiptune style music, although with some conventional sampled instrument sounds as well as speech. The game apparently was initially planned for release for the C64 but was canceled. The small amount of sample data made tracker chiptunes far more space-efficient than most other types of tracker music, which made them appealing to size-limited demoscene demos and crack intros. Tracker chiptunes have also been commonly used in other warez scene executables such as keygens. Nowadays the term "chiptune" is also used to cover chip music using actual chip-based synthesis, but some sources such as the Amiga Music Preservation project still define a chiptune specifically as a small Module file, tracker module. Modern trackers used today include OpenMPT, Famitracker, Furnace and Goattracker.


Contemporary chiptune music

file:Gameboytracker.JPG, left, ''Little Sound DJ'' loaded onto a Game Boy Advance The chip Warez scene, scene has become relevant thanks to "Compo (demoscene), compos" being held, groups releasing music disks and with the Crack intro, cracktro/demo scene. New Tracker (music software), tracker tools are used for making chip sounds available to less tech-savvy musicians. The Nintendo Entertainment System, NES platform has the MidiNES, a cartridge that turns the system into a full blown hardware MIDI controlled synthesizer. Around 2007, the Mssiah was released for the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
, which is very similar to the MidiNES, but with greater parameter controls, sequencing, analog drum emulation, and limited sample playback. The Commodore PET has the open-source software, open-source PetSynth software, which uses the PET's 6522 chip for sound, allows the computer to be played like a piano keyboard, and features many effects. On the DOS platform, FastTracker 2, Fast Tracker is one of the most famous chiptune makers because of the ability to create hand-drawn samples with the mouse. Chiptune artist Pixelh8 has also designed music software such as Music Tech for the Game Boy and the Pro Performer for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS which turn both machines into real time synthesizers. There have been a number of television segments featuring chiptunes and chip music artists in the past few years. On April 11, 2005, 8 Bit Weapon played their songs "Bombs Away" and "Gameboy Rocker" on G4 (U.S. TV channel), G4's ''Attack of the Show'' live broadcast Episode #5058. In 2008, as a parody of ''Masterpiece (TV series), Masterpiece Theatre'', the first four episodes of ''Boing Boing#Boing Boing Video, Boing Boing Video''s ''SPAMasterpiece Theater'' opened with a chiptune remix of Jean-Joseph Mouret's "Fanfare-Rondeau, Rondeau: Fanfare" (1735) by Hamhocks Buttermilk Johnson. Archived a
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Wayback Machine
Another chipmusic feature included little-scale, Dot.AY, Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families and Jim Cuomo on the Australian television series ''Good Game (TV program), Good Game'' in 2009. The Electronic Frontier Foundation in December 2010 used a faux 8-bit game with an 8-bit sound track by to demonstrate its notable legal achievements for that year. In March 2012, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's "The Art of Video Games" exhibit opened featuring a chipmusic soundtrack at the entrance by artists 8 Bit Weapon & ComputeHer. 8 Bit Weapon also created a track called "The art of Video Games Anthem" for the exhibit. In September 2015, the first music compilation based on Domo (NHK), Domo Loves Chiptune, was released on iTunes, Amazon, and all major music streaming services. Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
The compilation features top artists in the Chiptune genre such as Anamanaguchi and Disasterpeace. Domo Loves Chiptune also features the first Chiptune remix of the Domo theme song by Mystery Mansion. The New York City chiptune scene was also the subject of a documentary called ''Reformat the Planet'' by 2 Player Productions. This film was an official selection at the 2008 South by Southwest. Chip music has returned to 21st-century gaming, either in full-chip music style or using chip samples in the music. Popular games that feature chiptune elements in their soundtracks include ''Shovel Knight'' and ''Undertale''.


Events

Events take place all around the world that focus around the celebration and recognition of chiptune music.


Blip Festival


MAGFest's Chipspace

file:Chipspace (MAGFest 2020).jpg, alt=Chipspace (MAGFest 2020), The crowd area and marketplace for Chipspace during MAGFest 2020 In the United States, during MAGFest, Super MAGFest—a yearly convention that hosts a variety of video game-related events—popular chiptune artists such as goto80 and Chipzel have previously performed on the Concert Hall mainstage. A chiptune-focused mainstage show (aptly named "Chip Rave") typically occurs on the third day of the convention within the concert hall and has featured countless prominent faces in the chiptune community. Super MAGFest also holds a continuous venue called Chipspace, a place where participants in the chiptune community go on-stage and perform their music through an open mic system. Originally started by Chiptunes=WIN founder Brandon L. Hood and maintained by geekbeatradio, Chipspace has evolved over the course of MAGFest's lifespan to bring chiptune fans closer together. Among these daily performances are showcases, which are curated by chiptune netlabels such as Chiptunes = WIN, geekbeatradio, and more.


References


Further reading

*


External links


"Bleep Bloop: The Charms of Chiptune"
in The New Yorker's Culture blog
Diggin' In The Carts: A Documentary Series About Japanese Video Game Music
Red Bull Music Academy {{nerd music Video game culture Video game terminology Video game music technology Chiptune, chiptune Demoscene Electronica 1970s in music 1980s in music 1990s in music 2000s in music 2010s in music 2020s in music