Editing Music tracker (section)

=== 1987: Origins on the Amiga ===
The term tracker derives from [[Ultimate Soundtracker]] (the first tracker software<ref>{{cite book|author1=Olga Goriunova|title=Art Platforms and Cultural Production on the Internet|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-89310-7|pages=162|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=svTOmgMUGW0C|access-date=2014-09-13}}</ref>) written by Karsten Obarski and released in 1987 by EAS Computer Technik for the [[Amiga]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://helllabs.org/tracker-history/ |publisher=helllabs.org |first=Claudio |last=Matsuoka |date=2007-11-04 |access-date=2011-01-29 |title=Tracker History Graphing Project |archive-date=2011-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726144718/http://helllabs.org/tracker-history/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ultimate Soundtracker was a commercial product, but soon [[shareware]] [[Clone (computing)|clones]] such as [[NoiseTracker]] (1989<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techworld.idg.se/2.2524/1.586076/noisetracker-fyller-25-ar|title=Noisetracker fyller 25 år|website=TechWorld|access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>) appeared as well. The general concept of step-sequencing samples numerically, as used in trackers, is also found in the [[Fairlight CMI]] sampling workstation of the early 1980s. Some early tracker-like programs appeared for the [[MSX]] ([[Yamaha CX5M]]) and [[Commodore 64]], before 1987, such as [[Chris Huelsbeck]]'s SoundMonitor, but these did not feature sample playback, instead playing notes on the computer's internal synthesizer. Later, programs like Rock Monitor also supported additional sample playback, usually with short drum samples loaded in RAM memory.

The first trackers supported four pitch and volume modulated channels of 8-bit [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]] [[sampling (signal processing)|samples]], a limitation derived from the Amiga's [[Original Chip Set#Paula|Paula]] audio chipset and the commonplace [[8SVX]] format used to store sampled sound. However, since the notes were samples, the limitation was less important than those of synthesizing music chips.<ref name="Examples of synthesizing music chips">[[Commodore International|Commodore]]'s [[MOS Technology SID|SID]] or General Instruments' venerable [[AY-3-8912]] and Yamaha's compatible YM2149.</ref>