Editing Chiptune (section)

== History ==

=== 1951–1979: Precursors ===
{{external media|float=right|video1=[https://youtube.com/watch?v=kPzA2jkN0vs&lc=CJKoHtM60L9wUdoAxfRE2dOhjSt8h2QdVNNECbuBPWk ''Science International'': ''What Will They Think Of Next?''], YouTube video}}
The earliest precursors to chip music can be found in the early history of [[computer music]]. In 1951, the computers [[CSIRAC]] and [[Ferranti Mark 1]] were used to perform real-time synthesized digital music in public.<ref>{{cite news|title=17 June 2008: 'Oldest' computer music unveiled|last=Fildes|first=Jonathan|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7458479.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=June 17, 2008|access-date=2010-07-09|archive-date=July 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713151311/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7458479.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

One of the earliest commercial computer music albums came from the First Philadelphia Computer Music Festival, held August 25, 1978, as part of the Personal Computing '78 show. The First Philadelphia Computer Music Festival recordings were published by Creative Computing in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|title=First Philadelphia Computer Music Festival|url=https://vintagecomputermusic.com/|website=Vintage Computer Music.com|access-date=June 22, 2020|archive-date=June 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626031946/https://www.vintagecomputermusic.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Global TV]] program ''[[Science International]]'' (1976–1979) credited a [[PDP-11|PDP-11/10]] for the music.<ref>{{cite web|title=Science International (What Will They Think of Next)|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=kPzA2jkN0vs|last=bmuz| date=March 17, 2011 |via=YouTube|access-date=June 22, 2020|archive-date=June 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623040804/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPzA2jkN0vs|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Mid-1970s–1980s: Video game origins ===
Chiptune music began to appear with the [[video game music]] produced during the [[golden age of video arcade games]]. An early example was the opening tune in [[Tomohiro Nishikado]]'s [[arcade game]] ''[[Gun Fight]]'' (1975). The first video game to use a continuous background soundtrack was Tomohiro Nishikado's 1978 release ''[[Space Invaders]]'', which had four simple [[Diatonic and chromatic|chromatic]] descending [[bass note]]s repeating in [[music loop|a loop]], though it was dynamic and interacted with the player, increasing pace as the enemies descended on the player.<ref>
<!--this is collins_2 not to be confused with pages 12 or 19 earlier or 10&11 later-->
{{citation|title=From Pac-Man to pop music: interactive audio in games and new media
|first=Karen|last=Collins|publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]]|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7546-6200-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFEYAQAAIAAJ|page=2}}</ref>
The first video game to feature continuous melodic [[background music]] was ''[[Rally-X]]'', an arcade game released by [[Namco]] in 1980, featuring a simple tune that repeats continuously during [[gameplay]].<ref name="gradar2">{{cite web
|title=Gaming's most important evolutions
|url=https://gamesradar.com/gamings-most-important-evolutions
|date=October 9, 2010
|website=gamesradar
|access-date=June 22, 2020
|archive-date=June 23, 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623051757/https://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-important-evolutions/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
It was also one of the earliest games to use a [[digital-to-analog converter]] to produce [[Sampling (signal processing)|sampled]] sounds.<ref name="collins_12">
<!--this is collins_12 not to be confused with pages 19 or 2 or 10&11 later-->
{{cite book
|title=Game sound: an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of video game music and sound design
|last=Collins
|first=Karen
|year=2008
|publisher=[[MIT Press]]
|isbn=978-0-262-03378-7
|page=12
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnw0Zb4St-wC&pg=PA12
|access-date=June 12, 2011
}}
</ref>
That same year, the first video game to feature [[speech synthesis]] was also released, [[Sunsoft]]'s [[shoot 'em up]] arcade game ''[[Stratovox]]''.<ref name="gradar2"/>

In the late 1970s, the pioneering [[synth-pop]]/[[electronic dance music]] group [[Yellow Magic Orchestra]] (YMO) were using computers to produce synthesized music.<ref name="Sarasota">{{cite journal
|title=Computer rock music gaining fans
|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7s4mAAAAIBAJ&pg=4481,2128223
|journal=[[Sarasota Journal]]
|date=August 18, 1980
|access-date=2011-05-25
|page=8
|archive-date=April 9, 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409150919/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7s4mAAAAIBAJ&pg=4481,2128223
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
Some of their early music, including their 1978 self-titled [[Yellow Magic Orchestra (album)|debut album]], were [[Sampling (music)|sampling]] sounds from popular arcade games such as ''Space Invaders''<ref name="wire_1996">{{citation
|title=A-Z of Electro
|work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]
|issue=145
|date=March 1996
|author=David Toop
|url=https://thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/a-z-of-electro#V
|access-date=2020-06-21
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328142136/http://thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/a-z-of-electro#V
|archive-date=March 28, 2019
|url-status=live
}}
<!--
|url=https://thewire.co.uk/articles/210
|accessdate=2011-05-29
--></ref> and ''Gun Fight''. In addition to incorporating sounds from contemporary video games into their music, the band would later have a major influence on much of the video game and chiptune music produced during the [[History of video game consoles (third generation)|8-bit]] and [[History of video game consoles (fourth generation)|16-bit eras]].<ref>{{cite web
|title=YMCK takes 'chiptune' revolution major
|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20080229a1.html
|url-status=dead
|date=February 29, 2008
|author=Daniel Robson
|work=[[The Japan Times]]
|access-date=2011-06-11
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629195429/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fm20080229a1.html%23.T-4H2qgo_KA
|archive-date=June 29, 2012
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Game Music Roots: Yellow Magic Orchestra
|url=http://1up.com/features/game-music-roots-yellow-magic
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019235737/http://www.1up.com/features/game-music-roots-yellow-magic
|archive-date=October 19, 2012
|last=Smith
|first=David F.
|website=[[1UP.com]]
|access-date=August 6, 2012
|date=June 2012
}}
</ref> [[Sega]]'s 1982 arcade game ''[[Super Locomotive]]'' for example featured a chiptune [[cover version]] of YMO's "[[Solid State Survivor|Rydeen]]" (1979);<ref>{{KLOV game|9910|Super Locomotive}}</ref> several later [[PC game|computer games]] also covered the song, such as  ''Trooper Truck'' (1983) by [[Rabbit Software]] as well as ''[[Daley Thompson's Decathlon]]'' (1984) and ''[[Stryker's Run]]'' (1986) arranged by [[Martin Galway]].

By 1983, [[Konami]]'s arcade game ''[[Gyruss]]'' utilized five sound chips along with a digital-to-analog converter, which were partly used to create an electronic rendition of [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J. S. Bach's]] ''[[Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565|Toccata and Fugue in D minor]]''.<ref><!--this is collins_19 not to be confused with page 12 earlier or 2 and 10&11 later-->
{{cite book
|title=Game sound: an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of video game music and sound design
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnw0Zb4St-wC&pg=PA19
|last=Collins
|first=Karen
|year=2008
|publisher=[[MIT Press]]
|isbn=978-0-262-03378-7
|page=19
|access-date=June 12, 2011
|archive-date=April 5, 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405233530/https://books.google.com/books?id=gnw0Zb4St-wC&pg=PA19
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
In 1984, former YMO member [[Haruomi Hosono]] released an album produced entirely from Namco arcade game samples entitled ''Video Game Music'', an early example of a chiptune record<ref name="discogs_hosono">{{Discogs master|190001|Haruomi Hosono – Video Game Music|type=album}}</ref>
and the first video game music album.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Xevious
|url=http://hardcoregaming101.net/xevious/xevious2.htm
|url-status=dead
|access-date=2011-06-11
|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101
|page=2
|author=Carlo Savorelli
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322111516/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/xevious/xevious2.htm
|archive-date=March 22, 2018
}}</ref>
The record featured the work of Namco's chiptune composers: Toshio Kai (''[[Pac-Man]]'' in 1980), Nobuyuki Ohnogi (''[[Galaga]]'', ''[[New Rally-X]]'' and ''[[Bosconian]]'' in 1981, and ''[[Pole Position (video game)|Pole Position]]'' in 1982), and Yuriko Keino (''[[Dig Dug]]'' and ''[[Xevious]]'' in 1982).<ref name="vgmdb_namco">{{cite web
|title=Video Game Music
|url=http://vgmdb.net/album/489
|work=VGMdb
|access-date=September 6, 2011
|archive-date=October 3, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003112509/http://vgmdb.net/album/489
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===  Early 1980s–1994: FM synthesis ===
A major advance for chip music was the introduction of [[frequency modulation synthesis]] (FM synthesis), first commercially released by [[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]] for their [[digital synthesizer]]s and FM [[sound chip]]s, which began appearing in arcade machines from the early 1980s.<ref name="karen_10-1"><!--this is collins_10&11 not to be confused with pages 12, 19, or 2 earlier-->
{{cite book
|title=Game sound: an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of video game music and sound design
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnw0Zb4St-wC&pg=PA10
|access-date=June 12, 2011
|last=Collins
|first=Karen
|year=2008
|publisher=[[MIT Press]]
|isbn=978-0-262-03378-7
|pages=10–1
|archive-date=October 9, 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009094439/https://books.google.com/books?id=gnw0Zb4St-wC&pg=PA10
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=The Magic of FM Synth
|url=https://1up.com/features/the-magic-of-fm-synth
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124112215/http://www.1up.com/features/the-magic-of-fm-synth
|archive-date=January 24, 2013
|access-date=August 6, 2012
|date=June 2012
|last=Barnholt
|first=Ray
|website=[[1UP.com]]
}}
</ref>
Arcade game composers utilizing FM synthesis at the time included Konami's [[Miki Higashino]] (''[[Gradius]]'', ''[[Yie-Ar Kung Fu]]'', ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'') and [[Sega]]'s [[Hiroshi Kawaguchi (composer)|Hiroshi Kawaguchi]] (''[[Space Harrier]]'', ''[[Hang-On]]'', ''[[Out Run]]'').

By the early 1980s, significant improvements to [[personal computer game]] music were made possible with the introduction of [[Digital synthesizer|digital]] FM synthesis sound. [[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]] began manufacturing FM [[Sound card|synth boards]] for Japanese computers such as the [[NEC PC-8801]] and [[NEC PC-9801|PC-9801]] in the early 1980s, and by the mid-1980s, the PC-8801 and [[FM-7]] had built-in FM sound. This allowed computer game music to have greater complexity than the simplistic [[Beep (sound)|beeps]] from internal speakers. These FM synth boards produced a "warm and pleasant sound" that musicians such as [[Yuzo Koshiro]] and [[Takeshi Abo]] utilized to produce music that is still highly regarded within the chiptune community.<ref name="hg101_retro">{{cite web
|title=Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier
|url=https://hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers.htm
|access-date=2011-03-29
|author=John Szczepaniak
|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101
|archive-date=May 1, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501034812/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers.htm
|url-status=dead
}}
Reprinted from
{{citation
|title=[[Retro Gamer]]
|issue=67
|year=2009}}</ref>
In the early 1980s, Japanese [[personal computer]]s such as the NEC PC-88 and PC-98 featured [[audio programming language]]s such as [[Music Macro Language]] (MML) and [[MIDI]] interfaces, which were most often used to produce video game music.<ref name="shimazu104">{{cite journal
|title=The History of Electronic and Computer Music in Japan: Significant Composers and Their Works
|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/585311/pdf
|access-date=October 11, 2018
|last=Shimazu
|first=Takehito
|journal=[[Leonardo Music Journal]]
|year=1994
|volume=4
|pages=102–106 [104]
|publisher=[[MIT Press]]
|doi=10.2307/1513190
|jstor=1513190
|s2cid=193084745
|archive-date=October 11, 2018
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011214540/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/585311/pdf
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

[[Fujitsu]] also released the ''FM Sound Editor'' software for the FM-7 in 1985, providing users with a user-friendly interface to create and edit synthesized music.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=FM Sound Editor V1.0
|url=http://retropc.net/fm-7/museum/softhouse/fujitsu/520200300.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109175447/http://retropc.net/fm-7/museum/softhouse/fujitsu/520200300.html
|archive-date=November 9, 2007
|access-date=2012-09-02
|date=May 20, 2003
|work=[[:jp:Oh!FM|Oh!FM]]
}}{{Circular reference|date=September 2023}}</ref>

In 1987, FM synthesis became available for Western computers when Canadian company [[Ad Lib, Inc.|Ad Lib]] released the AdLib Music Synthesizer Card for the [[IBM Personal Computer]],<ref>{{cite web |title=AdLib Music Synthesizer Card |url=http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/23724/AdLib-Music-Synthesizer-Card/ |website=Centre for Computing History |access-date=December 24, 2020 |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301171601/http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/23724/AdLib-Music-Synthesizer-Card/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while Singapore-based [[Creative Labs]] incorporated the AdLib card's sound chip into its [[Sound Blaster]] card in 1989.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hardwidge |first1=Ben |title=The Sound Blaster Story |url=https://custompc.raspberrypi.org/articles/the-sound-blaster-story |access-date=December 24, 2020 |publisher=Custom PC |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129223416/https://custompc.raspberrypi.org/articles/the-sound-blaster-story |url-status=live }}</ref> Both cards were widely supported by [[MS-DOS]] game developers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The widespread adoption of FM synthesis by consoles would later be one of the major advances of the [[History of video game consoles (fourth generation)|16-bit era]], by which time 16-bit arcade machines were using multiple FM synthesis chips.<ref name="karen_10-1"/> A major chiptune composer during this period was [[Yuzo Koshiro]].<ref name="santos_2006">{{cite journal
|last=Santos
|first=Wayne
|title=Songs & Sounds in the 21st Century
|journal=GameAxis Unwired
|date=December 2006
|issue=40
|page=39
|publisher=[[Singapore Press Holdings|SPH Magazines]]
|issn=0219-872X
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EOkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39
|access-date=2011-08-05
|archive-date=May 30, 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530002920/https://books.google.com/books?id=EOkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
Despite later advances in audio technology, he would continue to use older PC-8801 hardware to produce chiptune soundtracks for series such as ''[[Streets of Rage (series)|Streets of Rage]]'' (1991–1994) and ''[[Etrian Odyssey]]'' (2007–present).<ref name="hg101_retro"/> His soundtrack to ''[[The Revenge of Shinobi (1989 video game)|The Revenge of Shinobi]]'' (1989) featured [[House music|house]]<ref name="greening_kotowski">{{cite web
|title=Interview with Yuzo Koshiro
|date=February 2011
|publisher=Square Enix Music Online
|last1=Greening
|last2=Kotowski
|first1=Chris
|first2=Don
|url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/yuzokoshiro.shtml
|access-date=2011-06-20
|archive-date=July 8, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708075027/http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/yuzokoshiro.shtml
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=3322|title=Yuzo Koshiro
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101010101/https://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=3322|archive-date=2014-01-01|url-status=dead
|website=[[All Media Network#AllGame|AllGame]]
}}
</ref>
and [[Progressive electronic dance music|progressive]] [[techno]] compositions<ref name="santos_2006"/> that fused [[electronic dance music]] with traditional [[Music of Japan|Japanese music]].<ref>{{cite web
|title=Interview with Yuzo Koshiro
|url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/composers/koshiro/oct99interview.shtml
|publisher=Square Enix Music Online
|access-date=August 8, 2011
|author=RocketBaby
|date=October 1999
|archive-date=September 26, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926225134/http://www.squareenixmusic.com/composers/koshiro/oct99interview.shtml
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
[[Discography of the Streets of Rage series|The soundtrack]] for ''[[Streets of Rage 2]]'' (1992) is considered "revolutionary" and "ahead of its time" for its "[[electro house|blend of]] swaggering house [[synthesizer|synths]], [[electro house|dirty]] [[electro (music)|electro-funk]] and [[trance music|trancey]] electronic textures that would feel as comfortable in a [[nightclub]] as a video game."<ref>{{cite web
|title=Game music of the day: Streets of Rage 2
|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/game-music-of-the-day-streets-of-rage-2
|access-date=July 28, 2012
|date=April 19, 2010
|last=McNeilly
|first=Joe
|publisher=[[GamesRadar]]
|archive-date=November 5, 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105210313/http://www.gamesradar.com/game-music-of-the-day-streets-of-rage-2/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
For the soundtrack to ''[[Streets of Rage 3]]'' (1994), Koshiro created a new composition method called the "Automated Composing System" to produce "fast-beat techno like [[Drum and bass|jungle]]",<ref name="jeff_davis">
{{cite web
|title=Interview with Yuzo Koshiro
|url=https://thegia.com/features/f010123.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010131055900/http://thegia.com/features/f010123.html
|archive-date=January 31, 2001
|access-date=August 6, 2011
|last=Davis
|first=Jeff
|work=Gaming Intelligence Agency
}}
<!--|url=https://psy-q.ch/mirrors/thegia/sites/thegia.com/features/f010123.html--></ref>
resulting in innovative and [[Experimental music|experimental sounds]] generated automatically.<ref name="sega_horowitz">
{{cite web
|title=Interview: Yuzo Koshiro
|url=https://sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=136&title=Interview:+Yuzo+Koshiro
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921205228/http://sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=136&title=Interview%3A+Yuzo+Koshiro
|archive-date=September 21, 2008
|access-date=August 6, 2011
|date=February 5, 2008
|last=Horowitz
|first=Ken
|work=Sega-16
}}</ref>
Koshiro also composed chiptune soundtracks for series such as ''[[Dragon Slayer (series)|Dragon Slayer]]'', ''[[Ys (video game)|Ys]]'', ''[[Shinobi (series)|Shinobi]]'', and ''[[ActRaiser]]''. Another important FM synth composer was the late [[Ryu Umemoto]], who composed chiptune soundtracks for various [[visual novel]] and [[shoot 'em up]] games.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=A Dragon's Journey: Ryu Umemoto in Europe
|url=https://hardcoregaming101.net/umemoto/umemoto.htm
|url-status=dead
|access-date=2011-08-23
|author=Audi
|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726130608/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/umemoto/umemoto.htm
|archive-date=July 26, 2017
}}</ref>

===  1986–present: SID music culture ===
{{See also|MOS Technology SID|Demoscene}}
[[file:MOS Technologies 6581.jpg|thumb|MOS 6581 and 8580 Commodore 64 SID chips]]
Later on, several demo groups moved to using their own music instead of ripped game music. In 1986, Jeroen "Red" Kimmel studied [[Rob Hubbard]]'s player routine and used it for original demo songs<ref>{{cite web
|title=Kimmel, Jeroen "Red": Red Hubbard (C-64 demo)
|url=http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=14758
|access-date=2010-07-09
|publisher=Noname.c64.org
|archive-date=June 30, 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630221204/http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=14758
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
before writing a routine of his own in 1987. Hobbyists were also writing their own dedicated music editor software, such as [[Chris Hülsbeck]]'s ''Soundmonitor'' which was released as a type-in listing in a 1986 issue of the German C-64 magazine ''[[64'er]]''.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Hülsbeck, Chris: Soundmonitor 1.0 (C-64 program)
|url=http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=59929
|access-date=2010-07-09
|publisher=Noname.c64.org
|archive-date=June 30, 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630221724/http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=59929
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

The practice of SID music composition has continued seamlessly until this day in conjunction with the [[Commodore 64]] demoscene. [[The High Voltage SID Collection]], a comprehensive archive of SID music, contains over 55,000 pieces of SID music.<ref>
[http://www.hvsc.de/#faq High Voltage SID Collection FAQ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624225931/https://hvsc.de/ |date=June 24, 2022 }}</ref>