Welcome to the 8-Bit Music Exhibit! You may have never heard of 8-bit music before; 8-bit music, otherwise known as chiptune, is a methodology of composing that uses retro game audio hardware, like the Nintendo Game Boy. You’re invited with open arms into the world of retro music, exposing you to a niche community of creative composers.
Stopping by the Clark Commons space of the Shapiro Library, you stumble upon this chiptune playground, begging you to enter with enticing beeps and boops. Once you enter, there’s no going back; you’re officially a part of the fun community that looks back to older technology to produce innovative music.
Walking in, the first stop is a large rendition of a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) controller, created by Joe Bauer. The previously handheld controller has been expanded into huge buttons to press, with a large directional button for your left hand and two red buttons on the right. If you thought that pressing buttons on normal devices was fun, just wait until you try the tactile nature of these A and B buttons. To demonstrate the rich sound capabilities, a cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon is playing, which can be switched out with different files to play other chiptune albums created on the NES.
Next is another influential device in chiptune history: The Commodore 64 (C64). It was released in 1982 as a home PC, originally intended as a business-oriented device. However, it had a sophisticated sound interface device (SID chip) and graphical capabilities, so it quickly became a powerhouse in the world of gaming. Engineer Bob Yannes, the creator of the C64’s SID chip, revolutionized computer sound capabilities. On the SID chip’s competitors, Yannes said, “I thought the sound chips on the market, including those in the Atari computers, were primitive and obviously had been designed by people who knew nothing about music.”
Although the SID chip of the Commodore 64 was incredible for its time, it still doesn’t compare to the technology in modern-day computers, which can produce a nearly infinite number of sounds. Chiptune composers use the limitations of older tech to work for them rather than against them, finding creative solutions to make their music. Thankfully, chiptune faces fewer limitations compared to video game music; it doesn’t need to dedicate a noise channel for in-game sound effects or reserve storage capacity and processing power for the graphics of a game. With these next exhibits—three interactive tabletop cabinets—you have the opportunity to try the chiptune composition technique on your own.
The Sound Explorer runs a program that mimics the internal logic of the Game Boy. You must decide: would you like to be player one or player two? On the left is player one, with green and blue buttons that can create any melody you want. By twisting knobs, you can adjust the volume and waveform. Player two lays down the beat as the percussion, pressing red buttons and adjusting the noise channel.
Onto the next devices, Pattern Palette and Chiptune Playground are two tabletop cabinets that are similar to one another in appearance. They both look like an Excel spreadsheet, with each number corresponding to a different sound. On the song page, you get to lay out the song’s structure, while the actual writing of the music occurs on the phase screen. It’s a lot to take in, but thankfully, there is a visiting chiptune artist, Norah, who is able to explain each piece in more detail and help you through the process of mixing your own music.
After experimenting with older technology and reading all the posters along the walls, you have been fully immersed in the world of chiptune, which is maybe a methodology you had never heard of until now. With online programs like Little Sound DJ, you’re free to experiment with these bleeps and bloops on your own!
But wait, there’s one more thing you still need to see. What’s going on in the world of 8-bit music today? One of the key organizers of the exhibit, Dr. Toni Bushner, created a video compiling interviews from various chiptune artists.
To learn more, read the accompanying Q&A with Dr. Bushner.
