Luxx
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I'm currently doing a research paper on chiptunes for college and it requires an interview. Since I don't have any personal connections to chip artists, I was wondering if some of you could help me out? If you have a few minutes please post your answers to these questions.

1. How long have you been making chiptunes?
2. What inspired you to begin creating your own music?
3. What do you personally use to produce chiptunes (Hardware and Software)?
4. What genre of music (besides chip) inspires you the most?
5. What do you know about music theory? Have you ever taken a formal music class?
6. What do you reccomend for someone who would like to begin making chiptunes (tutorials, software, hardware, online resources)?
7. Do you perform at any live shows?
7.a. If so, Where?
7.b. What's your motivation to perform live?
7.c. What kind of gear do you use at your shows?

nitro2k01: Clarified the topic title a little.

Last edited by nitro2k01 (Apr 24, 2012 4:16 pm)

ant1
Offline
uhajdafdfdfa

i have been making chiptunes since 2008. it is now 2012
seeing other people create their own music and it looking fun is what inspired me to create my own music
i use schism tracker on my PC to create my music
4)   no
i know a fair bit about music theory ~ i have taken a formal music classes
i recommend  trying as many different trackers as possible while you are beginning
i do NOT peroform at live shows
7abc) no

egr
Offline
Abandoned on Fire

1. How long have you been making chiptunes? 3-4 years
2. What inspired you to begin creating your own music? The album "Burn Berlin Burn"... but that was way before I knew what chipmusic was.
3. What do you personally use to produce chiptunes (Hardware and Software)?  Gameboy SP and LSDJ  (lots of other gear but it never produces a finished product)
4. What genre of music (besides chip) inspires you the most? digital hardcore, breakcore, punk
5. What do you know about music theory? Have you ever taken a formal music class? concert and marching band from 6-12th grade as a percussionist
6. What do you reccomend for someone who would like to begin making chiptunes (tutorials, software, hardware, online resources)? pick a software and read the manual over and over and over and over and over, try to make a song, read the manual again, repeat
7. Do you perform at any live shows? no
7.a. If so, Where? i said no!
7.b. What's your motivation to perform live? are you deaf?!
7.c. What kind of gear do you use at your shows? screw you guys, i'm goin' home

kineticturtle
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Matthew Joseph Payne

1. I started making chiptunes in 2001 or so, then stopped pretty quickly. I took it up again in 2010 and have been quite serious since.
2. I was creating my own music long before I started making chipmusic. I was inspired to make music because other people make music that I really like.
3. Nintendo Game Boys, SID chips. NES and Genesis consoles on the horizon.
4. High complexity art rock - Mr. Bungle, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Yes, etc. Also drone/doom/stoner metal.
5. I studied music theory formally in both high school and college, although I never graduated the latter.
6. Work with the equipment you have before you go dreaming about what you might build or buy. Working on a computer is totally fine, but consider spending some time on the original hardware if you can, it's educational and rewarding.
7. I perform at live shows frequently.
7.a. Primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area in the US state of California.
7.b. Live performance is my favorite part of playing music and always has been. Sharing music in real time with people is always an awesome experience.
7.c. The Glowing Stars uses a drumset, a big guitar amp, gameboys, and a sammichSID with a keytar controller. When I play solo I use a banjo, a baritone guitar or low tuned bass guitar, lots of big tube amps, game boys and a sampler.

MicroD
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Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

1. How long have you been making chiptunes? 4 years since I first picked up LSDJ. Wow, I hadn't fully realized.
2. What inspired you to begin creating your own music? Specifically Chipmusic? The Challenge!
3. What do you personally use to produce chiptunes (Hardware and Software)? LSDJ, Famitracker.
4. What genre of music (besides chip) inspires you the most? Ska/Reggae, Progressive
5. What do you know about music theory? Have you ever taken a formal music class? Classical piano training from early childhood.
6. What do you reccomend for someone who would like to begin making chiptunes (tutorials, software, hardware, online resources)? Try it out in emulators and visit forums like this one. Ask questions!
7. Do you perform at any live shows? Yes.
7.a. If so, Where? North Texas (so far).
7.b. What's your motivation to perform live? Engage and meet new people.
7.c. What kind of gear do you use at your shows? Game Boy, Drums.

shotgun breakdown
Offline
London, Ontario

1. I've been making chiptune for 4 years.
2. When I was in my teens it was watching bands play live.
3. I use a prosounded/backlit/half-clocked DMG. I use FL Studio for all fakebit sounds, for VSTs I mainly use 3xOsc and magical8bit.
4. Pop punk.
5. I know a fair amount. I am no expert. I understand the basics of melody, harmony, and rhythm and I have learned them on my own.
6. Go on YouTube and see what you're getting yourself into. If you want to use a Gameboy I suggest starting off with an emulator.
7. I used to, there is no scene for me to play in my current city.
7.a. I played in London (ON) mostly, also in Kitchener (ON), and I do webshows as well from my home in Dryden (ON).
7.b. Share my music with people, try to spark strangers interest in chiptunes.
7.c. I use my modded DMG, LSDJ, and I used to use a mini-mixer but I find that most venues have a mixer. If I'm playing stuff on a mono system I'll use my microKORG to add effects to my DMG.

Tetrasaurus
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Germany/Florida

1. Almost 3 years
2. Just a way to express my musical fellings
3. 100% LSDJ on a arduinoboy
4. Comeback Kid, Comeback Kid, and Comeback Kid
5. I read the book tongue I learned to play the trumpet when I was younger, but havnt played in years
6. If you start with LSDJ, its a must to read the manual. Id recommend reading Sabrepulse's lsdj tutorials. And just messing around in the channels, just get lost in it smile
7. Kinda
7.a. I did street busk with a dude named G0dlike(who dosent make chip music anymore) In Frankfurt, Germany.
7.b. Entice people who are unaware of this music is a motive. If I could move someone with my music, that would make me feel like I have accomplished something very great in my life.
7.c. If I were to play a show, which I hope to in the next month, it would be my KP3, and my gameboys of course smile

8-Bit Vic
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Texas

1. How long have you been making chip tunes? 5 months.
2. What inspired you to begin creating your own music? It just came to me.
3. What do you personally use to produce chiptunes (Hardware and Software)? LSDJ
4. What genre of music (besides chip) inspires you the most? Dance/Trance/House
5. What do you know about music theory? Have you ever taken a formal music class? a little. a couple of classes.
6. What do you reccomend for someone who would like to begin making chiptunes (tutorials, software, hardware, online resources)? Look into it first and see what it's all about before you jump into it, because it takes a lot of time and patience to produce music let alone chiptune.
7. Do you perform at any live shows? Not Yet.

Luxx
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Thank you so much! I didn't expect responses so quickly.

om
Offline

1. How long have you been making chiptunes?
- 21 years  ( a couple more if ubiks music counts) with a long gap in between

2. What inspired you to begin creating your own music?
- Rob Hubbard mainly

3. What do you personally use to produce chiptunes (Hardware and Software)?
- tracker

4. What genre of music (besides chip) inspires you the most?
- lots; electro, detroit, hardcore, ambient, gospel, And rhythm and blues, and jazz, All those are just labels, We know that music is music

5. What do you know about music theory? Have you ever taken a formal music class?
- bits reading over the years about types of synthesis, the physics of sound, studio production techniques.  Not anything too formal though.

6. What do you reccomend for someone who would like to begin making chiptunes (tutorials, software, hardware, online resources)?
- http://woolyss.com | mod archives | this place

7. Do you perform at any live shows?
- loads, but going back some, and it was more techno on Amiga than chip music, though the influences and techniques were there

7.a. If so, Where?
- Some of the Camden Indy places like the Worlds End, the Falcon and the Bull and Gate, often with a band.  Megatripolis at Heaven, the Rocket, The Farside at the Robey was always fun, something at cloud 9 fairly regular too (Trancentral perhaps), Zero Gravity and various early 90's north London warehouses and abandoned cinemas.

7.b. What's your motivation to perform live?
- chics and druqxs of course. Probably helps explain why I cba any more.

7.c. What kind of gear do you use at your shows?
- we used to take the two Amigas and have to synch them manually (pressing the F keys at the same time) if they went out from the initial midi signal.  a couple of old TV's which sometimes got fed through the mixer too.  some of my dads guitar pedals and sometimes a keyboard or two.

Jake Allison
Offline
Tulsa, OK

1. Over three years
2. Wanting to be like my favorite artists, but mostly to express myself
3. Nanoloop for iPhone
4. Drum & Bass, Jungle, J-Pop, Eurodance, Raggae, Blues, French House, Jazz, and Indy Pop.
5. I was in my school's concert band in middle school - I also played jazz - I currently have a musical mentor, and I will say "yes" to this question.
6. Dont try and make "chiptune" make music that you like smile If you are not fond of your own music, then nobody else will like it either. I would also tell them about how cool Nanoloop for iPhone/Android is. wink
7. Not for my Nanoloop stuff. I play bass in a worship band, and I play some acoustic-type shows with my buddy Caleb. In Tulsa, OK. 

great topic for a paper smile I am doing my final research paper over guns in the US

Last edited by Jake Allison (Apr 24, 2012 5:53 pm)

Auxcide
Offline
The Multiverse ::: [CA, Sac]

1. How long have you been making chip tunes? Chiptune: 8 months.
2. What inspired you to begin creating your own music? Boredom, lulz. Found out i was kind of a natural at it. I'm refering to music in general. I've been writing music since like middle school (so about 9~ years). Chiptune specifically caught my attention because I realized that I've been secretlhy wanting to emulate that sort of sound in my other music. So I decided why not do it on the actual hardware.
3. What do you personally use to produce chiptunes (Hardware and Software)? LSDJs on a couple of gameboys.
4. What genre of music (besides chip) inspires you the most? Any kind of Electronica. But on the other side of that, I write a lot of things for the piano and then see how a Chiptune version would sound. So a little modern orchestral stuff.
5. What do you know about music theory? Have you ever taken a formal music class? I guess a little. A lot of it i self taught and then fine-tuned in classes. (Composition major)
6. What do you reccomend for someone who would like to begin making chiptunes (tutorials, software, hardware, online resources)? I'd recommended starting out with a tracker but on an emulator I'm case you don't like it.
7. Do you perform at any live shows? Not yet. Gonna change that soon. smile

Last edited by Auxcide (Apr 24, 2012 5:49 pm)

Kedromelon
Offline
brooklyn

1. two years
2. Random (for chip music.... for music in general? That Super Smash Bros Melee CD Nintendo Power mailed out with an issue way back in the day)
3. DMG with LSDJ
4. post-rock
5. yes, I took two Music Theory classes in high school, taught myself some, and am now studying Music Tech at NYU (with music theory classes, of course)
6. do a variety of different tutorials online, and don't be afraid to ask other musicians for help/tips/SAVs (just don't be an annoying little butt about it)
7. yup
   a. mostly just in DIY venues in Brooklyn and Baltimore
   b. its a lot of fun!
   c. two DMGs with LSDJ + numark x6 mixer

pixls
Offline
Philly, PA, USA

1. How long have you been making chiptunes?
Attempting since 2009, making anything presentable since this past summer
2. What inspired you to begin creating your own music?
I've always wanted to make music, chipmusic just seemed like a method I could learn
3. What do you personally use to produce chiptunes (Hardware and Software)?
Mostly Nanoloop 2.x on GBA, a little bit nanoloop 1.6, a little bit LSDJ and some Ableton Live
4. What genre of music (besides chip) inspires you the most?
Probably Dark-Electro type stuff, specifically Huoratron
5. What do you know about music theory? Have you ever taken a formal music class?
I only know what I've picked up from being around musical people for so long, but nothing formal.
6. What do you reccomend for someone who would like to begin making chiptunes (tutorials, software, hardware, online resources)?
https://vimeo.com/13240905 this tutorial got me started using LSDJ, which i don't really use much but started some good habits.
7. Do you perform at any live shows?
I've performed once
7.a. If so, Where?
In Brooklyn
7.b. What's your motivation to perform live?
It's fun
7.c. What kind of gear do you use at your shows?
When I did perform live just my computer running Ableton Live with a midi controller

ChipsChallengeBand
Offline
Rochester, NY

1. How long have you been making chiptunes?
5 minutes (1 year)
2. What inspired you to begin creating your own music?
It looked easy, turned out it was fun too
3. What do you personally use to produce chiptunes (Hardware and Software)?
Software
4. What genre of music (besides chip) inspires you the most?
We have three members so I'll answer for all three of us (guess which is which!): Metalcore / Stoner / Pop-punk
5. What do you know about music theory? Have you ever taken a formal music class?
Not much if any, Ben and Zack might have been in high school band but they don't really know much either
6. What do you reccomend for someone who would like to begin making chiptunes (tutorials, software, hardware, online resources)?
Don't listen to chiptunes
7. Do you perform at any live shows?
Sometimes
7.a. If so, Where?
At bars and basements
7.b. What's your motivation to perform live?
Money / Exposure (we wanna get rich and famous as fast as possible yo) (hahahahahahahaha)
but really some people don't think chiptunes are legit so we punch them in the face with our riffs, that's my goal yo
7.c. What kind of gear do you use at your shows?
Guitar + Bass + Electronic Drums + PSP -> Mixer / PA

onewhitenoise
Offline

1. Around 10 months
2. The raw sound of chiptune, other amazing artists and the fact that I'd always wanted to make music and chiptune became a way for that to happen
3. Famitracker on my laptop
4. All sorts, I don't really have a genre specific taste. It ranges from electronic through folk to rock.
5. I have never taken a formal music class apart from basic guitar chords and stuff from a friend
6. I think Famitracker is awesome. It's worth going on their website and finding some music people have made to learn some techniques, this applies to any hardware as far as I know.