Chiptune 101 With Alex Yabsley

Chiptune expert Alex Yabsley gives us the lowdown before his talk at CHANGES Melbourne this week.

"It is often overlooked in the history of electronic music that some of the first digital synthesisers and technology for making music on computers had direct links to videogames. Retro games sound the way they do because the individual consoles all had unique soundchips capable of limited but very distinct sounds. 

As these soundchips are basically little synths inside devices lots of people have in their homes, a clever bunch of people have created tools that let you make your own music on them. Think about it like music software like Ableton Live but you run it on a Nintendo Gameboy not a laptop.

At CHANGES this year, you have an opportunity to learn how to put together a short loop using the Gameboy software Little Sound DJ. No previous musical experience or equipment is required just bring yourself and an open mind and you’ll be writing chiptunes in no time."

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Alex Yabsley’s must-see CHANGES acts:

Head over to the CHANGES Melbourne website for all the details.