Learning to work with a tracker is probably a good step. That'll give you the opportunity to expand the 'band' horizon using for example an Atari, Amiga or Gameboy. Getting to know a tracker is probably done best with downloading Milkytracker (OSX/Win) or Modplug Tracker (Win). Download a few modules from this website or for example modland and load them in. Try to understand the structure and make something with the samples of the songs you downloaded. Once you know the structure of the program and understand how a tracker works in general, it is easy to work with other trackers and/or machines.
Most trackers like Protracker (Amiga), Musicmon or MaxYMiser (Atari) or LSDj (Gameboy) are a bit harder to learn at first, so it's best to learn an 'easier' to understand (and to work with) tracker on PC. Once you know the drill learning to work with trackers on other machines is pretty easy.
Last edited by xylo (Mar 1, 2012 7:30 pm)
Thanks dudes, all this info is really helpful (when i understand what youre talking about)
Ill try famitracker and try to get my head around it
With trackers, I've heard that composing music on them isn't like writing sheet music etc. but it uses hexidecimal characters. I (sort of) know what that is, but whats the relationship between notes and hexidecimal characters?
Actually that's probably something I should mess around with myself...
I don't intend to piss people off by asking for help, I understand that chiptune emerged from a very DIY scene but for new comers to the scene (like me) its a bit confusing if you've never really been exposed to the 'chiptune making scene'
Thanks dudes, all this info is really helpful (when i understand what youre talking about)
Ill try famitracker and try to get my head around it
With trackers, I've heard that composing music on them isn't like writing sheet music etc. but it uses hexidecimal characters. I (sort of) know what that is, but whats the relationship between notes and hexidecimal characters?
Actually that's probably something I should mess around with myself...I don't intend to piss people off by asking for help, I understand that chiptune emerged from a very DIY scene but for new comers to the scene (like me) its a bit confusing if you've never really been exposed to the 'chiptune making scene'
Well, in Modplug a C note on the fifth octave is written like C 5. C as note, 5 as octave.
For instrument use you can use the hexidecimal characters. For example the 11th instrument is written as B instead of 11.
Last edited by xylo (Mar 1, 2012 7:55 pm)
Thanks dudes, all this info is really helpful (when i understand what youre talking about)
Ill try famitracker and try to get my head around it
With trackers, I've heard that composing music on them isn't like writing sheet music etc. but it uses hexidecimal characters. I (sort of) know what that is, but whats the relationship between notes and hexidecimal characters?
Actually that's probably something I should mess around with myself...I don't intend to piss people off by asking for help, I understand that chiptune emerged from a very DIY scene but for new comers to the scene (like me) its a bit confusing if you've never really been exposed to the 'chiptune making scene'
Just dive in. Some things you're worrying about now will become immediately clear simply by experiencing them in-context. The things you don't understand quickly, you'll then be better able to contextualize when you present the community with specific questions.
Use the notes from The Petshop Boys - Go west, that'll surely give you an original chiptune song.
egr wrote:Damn, Pr1mate serves up more "Quotable Quotes" than Alex Trebek.
AND JUST AS DRUNK TOO
chiptune isn't like guitar center: there are no sales people telling you "you need this or that easy-to-use $500 product to make chiptune and some monster cables." it is a sound aesthetic, and therefore requires one to explore what it is for themselves.
That's the quotable part I was referring to. 
I've heard that composing music on them isn't like writing sheet music etc. but it uses hexidecimal characters.
NUMBERWANG!
Hexadecimal notation is used only for effect parameters. The notes are displayed as, well, notes.
Okay ive been messing around with famitracker for around half an hour now and I think i understand the basics and I tried out the first few effects (up to the volume slide)
What i can't get my head around is the arpeggio effect
If I set the parameter to 2 and 4, does this mean that the second note is 2 semitones higher and the third note is 4 semitones higher? I can't really tell because im a bit tone deaf and its too fast...
Last edited by Alister (Mar 1, 2012 10:03 pm)
DUDE, SERIOUSLY. ITS GOING TO TAKE LONGER THAN 30 MINUTES ALRIGHT?
okay i lie, i took longer than 30 minutes, but thats beside the point
Probably gonna take at least a couple months to fully understand Famitracker.
