Arcadópolis
Chiptunia Tracker
Free online 8-bit chiptune tracker: Chiptunia
Chiptunia Tracker is a free 8-bit music tracker that runs in your browser, with nothing to download. You compose on a grid that plays from top to bottom, with four channels (two pulse, one triangle and one noise), just like on classic consoles.
Type notes with your computer keyboard, the on-screen piano or a MIDI keyboard, and give each instrument a chip sound or any sound from the Andromeda Phantom DAW synthesizer. It comes with example songs to learn by ear, and your song downloads as MIDI or audio.
You’ll find it on the Arcadópolis desktop and in the Studio folder.
Free, no ads, nothing to install.
Install Chiptunia Tracker on its own on your home screen
What it has
- Four channels: Pulse 1, Pulse 2, Triangle and Noise, each with its own oscilloscope and meter.
- Nine chip sounds: 12.5%, 25% and 50% pulse, triangle, noise, metallic noise, kick, snare and hi-hat.
- Up to 64 patterns of 1 to 128 rows, 32 instruments and an order list of 128 steps.
- Ten tracker effects: arpeggio, slides, portamento, vibrato, volume, pattern jump, note cut or delay, and tempo.
- Four example songs, plus today’s Eight Notes melody and your three latest, turned into songs.
- Up to 16 songs in My songs and a .json file to back them up or move them to another device.
How to use it
- Open Chiptunia Tracker from the desktop or the Studio folder.
- Pick a song under “Examples” to hear it, or start with an empty song.
- Move with the arrow keys and type notes: the Z S X D C V… row is one octave, the Q 2 W 3 E R… row is the next, and the 1 key writes a note off.
- Build your patterns, line them up in the Order and press “Download” to get your song as MIDI or audio.
What is a tracker?
A tracker is a way to compose on a grid that moves from top to bottom, like sheet music turned on its side. Each column is a channel and each line is a row: rows play in order, as fast as the BPM and the ticks per row say. Every cell holds a note, an instrument, a volume and an effect. A block of rows is a pattern, and the Order list says in what sequence they play, so you can repeat the chorus without copying it.
How to make an 8-bit song
Put the bass on the Triangle channel and the drums on Noise, with the kick, snare and hi-hat. The melody goes on Pulse 1, and on Pulse 2 you can arpeggiate chords with the 0xy effect, which cycles three notes so fast they sound like a chord: the classic chiptune trick. To make a note sing, add vibrato with 4xy, and to change the tempo mid-song, use Fxx. If you get stuck, open “8-bit adventure” and see how it’s built.
Common questions
Can I export to MIDI or WAV?
Yes. “Download” opens a panel where you can hear the song before you save it: the MIDI file carries your notes and tempo, and the audio, at 48 kHz and played on your tracker instruments, comes as WAV, FLAC, MP3, OGG or AAC. The MIDI is also kept in My MIDI.
Do I need to know how to code or read music?
No. Open an example, listen to it and change notes to see what happens; “Help and shortcuts” explains the keys and every effect. Hexadecimal numbers (0–9 and A–F) only go in the instrument, volume and effect columns.
Does it work with a MIDI keyboard?
Yes, in browsers that allow it: press the “MIDI keyboard” button, give permission once and the notes you play are written into the grid. If you don’t have one, your computer keyboard works as a piano.
Also in Arcadópolis
Andromeda Phantom DAWA complete music studio: multitrack DAW, a synthesizer with over a thousand sounds, drums, theory, a sampler, voice effects and a visualizer.
StudioThe music-making apps: Staff, Endless Jam, Chord of the Day, Humming and more.
Eight NotesThe daily music challenge: everyone gets the same eight notes to compose a 16-step melody and share it.
Arcadópolis has 66 more apps on the same desktop: games, music, a 3D museum and a 3D library.