The sound modules in early home computer and video game systems produce a unique sound prized by chiptunes artists and enthusiasts.
Chiptunes is a musical genre that, according to a paper by Kevin Driscoll and Joshua Diaz of MIT, "refers to music composed for the microchip-based audio hardware of early home computers and gaming consoles." A looser understanding of the term includes music produced on contemporary computers by emulating the hardware of old computers and video game consoles, and most generally "chiptunes" might be used to describe any music composed or rendered in such way as to evoke the popular aesthetic associated with early home computer and video game technology. Producing chiptunes is often an intimidating process for beginners, but by exploring the many tools and platforms available you can find a happy niche in this diverse music scene.
Instructions
1. Use tracker software to compose and play chiptunes music on a vintage Commodore 64 computer (C64). If you happen to own one of these somewhat hard-to-find machines, the High Voltage Music Engine Collection will supply you with more than enough software tools to get you started making music. If you don't have access to a C64, an emulator like VICE can simulate one on your PC. Although there may be subtle differences between the sounds produced by an emulator and a real machine, emulation is a practical solution for enthusiasts who can't find an actual C64. Music can also be composed for the C64 using PC-based software like Covert BitOps' GoatTracker, then played back with an emulator or transferred to a real C64. See the resources section for links to C64 music software and to the VICE emulator.
2. Make chiptunes on an old portable Nintendo Game Boy video game system by using specially designed game cartridges containing tracker software. The Nanoloop cartridge features a 4-track sequencer and several common synthesis features like custom waveforms, volume and pitch envelopes, and LFOs. Little Sound Dj (LSDJ), a popular tracker program for the Game Boy, is no longer being produced in game cartridge form, but the software can still be used, like C64 software, with an emulator on your PC, or can be transferred to and run on a special game cartridge with rewriteable memory. See the references and resources sections for links to more information about these cartridges.
3. Use Neil Baldwin's NTRQ tracker software to make chiptunes with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The tracker can either be run in an emulator on your PC or can be downloaded to and run from a PowerPak, a special NES cartridge with removable flash memory. Another way to use the NES musically is with Midines, a game cartridge with a MIDI port that allows you to use the NES like any other MIDI-controllable sound module (see the resources section for a link). Finally, you can use PC-based software tools like the popular FamiTracker to compose music for the NES, which can then be played back with a built-in emulator or by transferring it to a PowerPak cartridge in a real NES.
4. Integrate the characteristic chiptunes sound into contemporary music production software using audio plug-ins. There are plug-ins in the VST, AU and RTAS formats that emulate the sounds of the C64, NES and many other machines of the era. Popular music production programs like Ableton Live and Pro Tools can host such plug-ins, allowing you to compose chiptunes with a more contemporary, flexible software interface than those available for the original machines. Compositions created this way are also freed of the limitations of the original synthesizer hardware, allowing for more complex music than could be achieved with the old technology. See the resources section for a link to a list of free and commercial audio plug-ins suitable for chiptunes music.
