I wanted to do something special for Ultrachip 2011, so I had something to give away for free during the festival. I came up with the idea of writing a chipmusic guide of sorts, with an exclusive track on a floppy disk. It was fun, and I just found the text file on my hard-drive. Enough time has passed, so I thought it'd be fun to share it.
Getting Started With Chipmusic
by Garry Lee
(7/8/2011 to 8/8/2011)
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**If you’re reading this, you’ve managed to get your hands on a floppy disk distributed at Ultrachip 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland. I wrote this previous to the festival as a way of communicating a message about antiquated technology in an antiquated way. Much of this was written with the Nintendo Game Boy, my console of choice, in mind. However, a lot of the text contained within this document will be considered useful for the general user of chipmusic technology and software. You are part of this now.**
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Contents Page
Getting Started With Chipmusic
1.1 - Introduction
1.2 - What is chipmusic?
1.3 - The benefits of producing chipmusic
1.4 - Community
1.5 - Principles?
1.6 - Learning
1.7 - Promotion
1.8 - Net-labels
1.9 - Releasing your music
1.10 - Performing live
1.11 - Console modifications
1.12 - Purchasing chipmusic-related products
1.13 - Conclusions
1.14 - Links
Getting Started With Chipmusic
1.1 - Introduction
As I write this, I am getting ready for Ultrachip, a now yearly 2-day excursion to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The people involved are a rag-tag gang of programmers, musicians, artists, and a few others that don’t quite fit any of those particular molds. An obvious bond exists in the wide void between personalities and musical preferences. It would lead you to believe that chipmusic is something special for that reason alone, and I wouldn’t be quick to correct you for thinking so.
1.2 - What is chipmusic?
This is a dreaded question that no-one particularly likes trying to answer, so this is my own interpretation of what chipmusic is. For me, chipmusic is the production of music using either software on video games hardware that contains a soundchip, or using samples of the sounds such a device would produce in a modern digital audio workstation.
1.3 - The benefits of producing chipmusic
There are, in my mind, many benefits to producing chipmusic over other styles. Firstly, from my own perspective, is the absence of any real, substantial cost in producing releases to with an acceptable sound quality. This is, of course, my own opinion, as many do decide to enter studios and produce professional recordings, and have benefitted from it. Secondly, there are opportunities available to get involved in the creation of music for other projects such as indie games with the resurgence of retro styles through websites like Gamejolt, Tigsource and many others. Thirdly, for the time being, using this technology can be a selling point and something to allow you to stand out from the crowd when trying to promote yourself locally, nationally and internationally. Fourthly, the sense of community that exists between artists is like nothing I’ve ever experienced when producing music of other genres, and the level of support offered by fellow artists is, in my own experiences, unheard of.
1.4 - Community
While the software and technology can be bought easily - like any other product - with a credit or debit card, trying to break into the community and become an accepted member can, for some, be a struggle. Tolerance is generally low of anyone that doesn’t find their feet quickly. Those armed with Google and a bit of common sense seem to be held in a higher regard. It could be described as an inclusive community, but, only really as one with high standards. It’s understandable to eventually turn off to helping new users when the same questions are continually asked, despite the best attempts of many to provide all of that information in clearly labelled frequently asked questions threads. If you’re looking to get involved, be prepared for the amount of reading, watching tutorial videos and trial-and-error experimentation with the software in order to get the best results.
1.5 - Principles?
Many people starting out, or in their early years of writing and producing chipmusic, have taken to forming small cliques as a way of masking their insecurities, and others try to make themselves known without care for upholding the artistic principles that one would, perhaps naively, presuppose existed in some form. For some members of the community, any kind of commercial approach to chipmusic would be considered offensive, and against their view of what the scene should represent. With that said, many artists have made the crossover into writing for popular games, viral videos and other creative projects sold for profit. This is an ongoing debate, and is an example of the diversity of opinions contained with the chipmusic scene.
1.6 - Learning
One of the benefits of writing chipmusic on software native to a games console is the ability - in some, but not all types of chipmusic software - to share save files, sounds and techniques between artists with relative ease. This has obviously been assisted greatly by the development of high-speed internet connections, USB flash cartridges and the growth in membership and use of dedicated online forums. Trading the aforementioned save files, sounds and techniques with fellow musicians will help you to get to grips with the elements of your chosen program not written about in the user manual. It really is very interesting how differently two musicians can use the same piece of software to produce similar results, so where possible, study what you can acquire. I have certainly benefitted greatly by exploring the work of other local musicians, and I have included some of my own save files in a link in section 1.11 of this document. The ability to trade save files also opens up the possibility of collaboration with other artists, and remixing, if you’re into that sort of thing.
1.7 - Promotion
Setting the goal of conquering the musical world armed with a games console is regarded by many as being largely as a fruitless exercise, but many have been successful in aligning themselves with widely recognised and successful creative projects. The extent of artistic promotion for many “young” artists in the beginning of their chipmusic career consists of two dominant approaches: uploading a song to a chipmusic website, and opening up a forum topic on such a website requesting constructive feedback that you don’t really want or need in order to get people to listen to your tracks. The latter can become especially irritating if the artist is prolific, regardless of the quality of those songs. It becomes quite apparent that a key theme in chipmusic, from the point of view of an artist, is validation. Due to the perceived exclusivity, it becomes desirable to be taken seriously in a community united by what still are under-represented tools in the production of music. Taking a structured approach sensitive to the amount of new music people are subjected to on a daily basis, you should be able to find an audience for your own music.
1.8 - Net-Labels
The amount of net-labels (and those trying to emulate them) have grown considerably in recent years. This is obviously quite a positive development, as it shows the amount of growth in individuals and groups wanting to promote great artists. However, many people make the mistake of setting up net-labels before coming up with a sound justification for the existence of such a net-label, and/or before providing the artists on their roster with any measurable perk for releasing their music. I personally do not recognise these net-labels as proper labels, as I think above all else, a label should be a sign of consistent musical quality.
1.9 - Releasing your music
There are many aspects to consider when releasing your first chipmusic EP or album. Firstly, there is the issue of quality control. When people have thousands of legally free songs at their fingertips and your artist name isn’t instantly recognizable, you need to take the necessary steps to convince those people that you are worth their time. Taking the time to employ an artist to make you a professional looking front and back cover, and getting feedback before it has been released can really help to start you off on the right path. If no-one takes notice, even after all of the work you put in, don’t be disheartened, and try hard to act courteously and professionally about it. Contacting labels associated with chipmusic can be beneficial, but where possible, make a point of listening to the type of chipmusic releases that they promote. No-one likes an un-targeted demo. There is a debate on whether the music should be released freely, and that is something I do support. I believe that music should be available digitally for free, or donation-based, and sold in its physical form, whether it’s on CD, vinyl or any other format, for a price to be determined by the artist.
1.10 - Performing live
Chipmusic live performances are something that must be prepared for, and requires extensive training. For me, there are three approaches. In the first approach, chipmusic live performances could be considered to be the work of professional actors. The whole act, for many, is one grand deception; never quite explaining to the audience the intricacies of the software, and largely pretending to twist knobs and remain interested in a synchronized manner for 30 minutes. The second approach involves having a backing track playing and either using a live instrument to play elements of the song, or using a live instrument to play elements additional to the song. The third and final approach is largely comprised of triggering and manipulating pre-composed loops.
1.11 - Console modifications
From both a technological and business-orientated point of view, chipmusic has grown somewhat in the last several years. Console modifications (both aesthetic and the auditory) are being continually developed and sold either for profit or distributed in the form of tutorials, sometimes both are available for the people that don’t have the necessary soldering skills or equipment necessary to do these modifications for themselves. When starting out, I personally believe that the majority (if not all) modifications are unnecessary. However, for live performances with original Game Boys, I do find the backlight modification to be particularly useful.
1.12 - Purchasing chipmusic-related products
While there are a range of online sellers of various chipmusic-related products, my personal endorsement would go to www.kitsch-bent.com, who makes a point of offering a great range of products across a wide range of consoles, always dispatches items promptly and ships items correctly. A general tip for purchasing online is, where possible, use PayPal. Protecting yourself in the event of any complications or problems is paramount when trading online, and sadly, even the chipmusic community isn’t immune to dishonest sellers. This can occur from time to time.
1.13 - Conclusions
This was a spontaneous exercise, and something I decided to do motivated by the fact that Ultrachip was finally here again. Chipmusic, and the many people involved in their individual ways, has been a positive influence on my own life, and I do believe it can be a force of good for many that want to, and enjoy spend their time learning about our technological past. Chipmusic connected me again to the first real piece of technology I owned as a child, a Nintendo Game Boy, and has breathed new life into that artifact that I regarded, for quite some time, as an object firmly associated with the past. It is through this text document on a floppy disk in 2011 that I have attempted to communicate my message of love for chipmusic to you, while taking into account the many drawbacks of the community in its current state.
1.14 - Links
Link to my LSDJ save files
I previously mentioned including a link to many of my own save files, and here it is: http://www.mediafire.com/?bt10nd1un941hkf
To access them, enter the password: chipcoalition
Links to forums
http://www.8bc.org/
http://www.chipmusic.org/
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**Thanks for reading, and good luck.
Garry Lee
- www.sycamoredrive.co.uk**
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