What Makes a Chiptune a Chiptune?

In a blog post on Soundtrap, Tero Potila describes some of chiptunes’ main distinguishing characteristics, including use of a limited number of channels, simple sound waves, looping patterns, and rapid, arpeggiated sequences of notes often used to mimic chords and harmonies. All of these things are byproducts of the miniscule amount of data accessible to the technology that was originally used (Potila). To make up for their limitations, composers borrowed two tools from popular music: repetition and simplicity. Loops were necessary to minimize the amount of data that the audio used, usually requiring melodies to be relatively short and simple compared to what one would hear in concerts or movies. However, these qualities also made video game tunes more likely to resonate with the listener through repeated exposure of the same theme, allowing it to get ‘stuck in their head.’ Fast tempos, often ranging from 120 bpm to as high as 160 bpm, were also common since they supported the fast-paced gameplay showcased by many video game series (Lynch). Finally, the recognizable sounds of the various audio chip synthesizers, when paired with the creativity and style of a chiptune composer, produced compositions that were, and still are, sonically and musically interesting (Reid). The iconic sounds, the technology, the gameplay, and the musical styles and interests of individual composers all contribute to defining the chiptune genre.

Years after the first consoles and games came out, and as technology and video games became more advanced, composers began to move away from the iconic sounds of audio chip synthesizers. Instead, they approached many game scores as composers did for movies, often recording live instruments and creating longer, more intricate works to be played as audio files during gameplay. One can think of orchestral scores featured in recent games from the Super Mario Bros. or Legend of Zelda series as well as those of other series like Skyrim. Though the role of 8-bit music in video game production diminished, its popularity and relevance in the video game scene did not. Nostalgia for the old games and love for their music have inspired artists and gamers alike to replicate, as well as emulate, the style and sounds of the original chiptunes to create remixes and covers as well as original works.

Though a genre of music is driven by its artists, it is largely defined by, and cannot really exist without, the listeners of that genre. Initially, fans of chiptunes and 8-bit music were primarily individuals who grew up with video games during the last two decades of the 20th century and did not identify as a “fandom.” As those individuals came together in various circles as adults, however, they found that the tunes from their childhoods created an inclusive common interest among their generation. Chiptunes also appealed to younger generations, showing that their popularity was not solely dependent on nostalgia. 

Conclusion

After seeing the uniqueness and prevalence of the chiptune genre, it is not difficult to see how video game music has impacted the music world. New but limiting technology challenged the first video game composers and programmers, motivating them to invent a new style of music with new sounds. Gamers from multiple generations would come to love the games and their music, and that love prompted countless individuals to create their own chiptunes using the many tools available to them, including original hardware, MIDI technology, and video games with music-creating capabilities. Due in part to the different ways musicians have integrated the chiptune style into their covers and songs, one can hear the classic FM synths and drums in several electronic genres, not just music that is explicitly 8-bit. And unlike the old days of classical composers and the current age of multi-millionaire pop artists, anyone can write chiptunes using the same methods used by composers like Matsumae and Yamagishi.