Chiptunes: How old technology and music meld to create something unique

If you were lucky enough to own one of the earlier game consoles, you may still remember those little bleeps that passed for music. Earlier technology was extremely limited in the way it could output sound. The sound chips used in most arcades (remember those?) and home consoles those days were extremely basic and at most supported just five channels of sound.

The sound itself was also rather rudimentary featuring support for considerably basic synthesisers and super low quality digital samples. Does this mean that it was bad? Far from it. Many developers overcame the limitations of these system to create memorable tunes that are still hummable and unique to this day. One example that immediately comes to mind is Super Mario Bros., I mean who does not remember that iconic theme? Bet I put it in your head just by mentioning it.

Okay, but what does this have to do with chiptunes?

Everything. Chiptunes are heavily inspired by game soundtracks during the early years. Some artists even go so far as to use the soundboards from those old consoles and arcade machines to be as authentic as possible. It is a niche fed mostly by nostalgia of those earlier years when gaming was still trying to find its footing.

The ‘Chip’ in chiptunes refers to the large assortment of beeps and bops made by those earlier sound ‘chips’. The scene began gathering momentum through illicit means at first, believe it or not. The music first started making rounds as part of ‘Keygens’ and anyone who has visited Pirate Bay at least once would know what I am talking about.

‘Keygens’ are an illegal repository of paid licences for software but that is not what interests us. These small applications were often attributed to various groups who developed them. It was a matter of pride to be among the first groups to release Keygen for new software. These groups often included small demos or artworks with chiptune music. This spun off into an entire sub-culture of its own called the demoscene but what matters to us is that these guys were among the first to make chiptunes.

Eventually it spread on the internet and even popular artists like Deadmau5 tried their hands on it.

There are also artists who create ‘8-bit’ remakes of popular songs.

Interesting. How are Chiptunes made?

Two ways: Software or if you are extremely invested, the actual hardware used at that time. If you go the software route you will be dealing with plug-ins and Digital Audio Workstations (DAW). DAW’s like Apple’s Logic Pro or Fruity Loops rely on plug-ins to source their sound. Think of them as small complimentary applications that plug themselves in to various DAW’s to expand their capabilities. There are many types of plugins but the ones that we are concerned about are the one that add retro sounds to the DAW.

If you do not want to go broke trying to purchase licenses for all the DAW’s and plugins, then you might want to investigate free software to create chiptunes. There are browser-based chiptune DAW’s like Beepbox to allow you to quickly create a song. As you might have guessed, there are various limitations to this, most importantly the quality of the samples themselves.

You will also make it easier for yourself if you have basic music theory knowledge or at least know about the musical notes that you need to insert. This is not mandatory though and you can get by using trial and error.

If you find yourself super invested in the scene and willing to spend some moolah, then you might look to get some hardware. This can range from a good multi-sample keyboard to the actual hardware used on the old consoles themselves. Luckily, keyboards are great starting point. Cheap ones manufactured by Yamaha and Korg around that time usually carried a library of preset sounds that are similar. The work you have put it in is to figure out how to connect it to modern hardware for recording.

It also goes without saying you are going to need to be at least a little fluent at the instrument but look on the flip side, there is no better time to learn than now.

For inspiration look to artists like cTrix, who uses hardware from that era to create the sounds.