Editing Music tracker

{{Short description|Type of software for creating music}}
[[File:OpenMPT 1.31.12 Screenshot.png|thumb|280x280px|[[OpenMPT]], a tracker running in [[Microsoft Windows]].]]
A '''music tracker''' (sometimes referred to as a '''tracker''' for short) is a type of [[music sequencer]] software for creating music. The music is represented as discrete [[musical notes]] positioned in several [[audio signal|channels]] at chronological positions on a vertical timeline.<ref>{{cite book
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qY1YVyRLdlUC
 | author = Mason McCuskey
 | title = Beginning Game Audio Programming
 | isbn = 978-1592000296
 | publisher = Premier Press
 | year = 2003
 | page = 168
}}</ref>
A music tracker's user interface is traditionally number based. Notes, [[Elements of music|parameter]] changes, [[Effects unit|effects]] and other commands are entered with the keyboard into a grid of fixed time slots as codes consisting of letters, numbers and [[hexadecimal]] digits.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EfgLAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA217|title=The Music Tech Dictionary: A Glossary of Audio-Related Terms and Technologies|publisher=[[Cengage Learning|Course Technology]]|date=2009|access-date=September 10, 2014|first=Mitch|last=Gallagher|isbn=9781598639148}}</ref>
Separate patterns have independent timelines; a complete [[song]] consists of a master list of repeated patterns.

Later trackers departed from solely using [[module files]], adding other options both to the sound synthesis (hosting generic [[synthesizers]] and effects or [[MIDI]] output) and to the sequencing (MIDI input and recording), effectively becoming general purpose sequencers with a different [[user interface]].

In the 2010s, tracker music is still featured in [[demoscene]] products for old hardware platforms and demoparties have often separate tracker music competitions. Tracker music may also be used in games which [[Retrogaming|borrow aesthetics from past decades]].

== History ==
{{demoscene}}

=== 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>

=== 1990s: MS-DOS versions ===
{{original research|section|date=April 2022}}
During the 1990s, tracker musicians gravitated to the PC as software production in general switched from the Amiga platform to the PC. Although the IBM and compatibles initially lacked the hardware sound processing capabilities of the Amiga, with the advent of the [[Sound Blaster]] line from [[Creative Technology Limited|Creative]], PC audio slowly began to approach [[Compact disc|CD]] Quality ([[44,100 Hz|44.1&nbsp;kHz/16&nbsp;bit/Stereo]]) with the release of the [[SoundBlaster 16]].

Another sound card popular on the PC tracker scene was the [[Gravis Ultrasound]], which continued the hardware mixing tradition, with 32 internal channels and onboard memory for sample storage. For a time, it offered unparalleled sound quality and became the choice of discerning tracker musicians. Understanding that the support of tracker music would benefit sales, Gravis gave away some 6000 GUS cards to participants. Coupled with excellent developer documentation, this gesture quickly prompted the GUS to become an integral component of many tracking programs and software. Inevitably, the balance was largely redressed with the introduction of the [[Sound Blaster AWE32]] and its successors, which also featured on-board RAM and [[Table-lookup synthesis|wavetable]] (or [[Sample-based synthesis|sample]] table) mixing.

The responsibility for [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|audio mixing]] passed from hardware to software (the main [[CPU]]) which gradually enabled the use of more channels. From the typical 4 MOD channels of the Amiga, the limit had moved to 7 with TFMX players and 8, first with Oktalyzer and later with the vastly more popular [[OctaMED]] (Amiga, 1989), then 32 with [[ScreamTracker|ScreamTracker 3]] (PC, 1994) and 16 with [[FastTracker 2]] (PC, 1994) and on to 64 with [[Impulse Tracker]] (PC, 1995) and [[OctaMED|MED SoundStudio]] (updated version of OctaMED). An Amiga tracker called Symphonie Pro even supported 256 channels.

As such, hardware mixing did not last. As processors got faster and acquired special multimedia processing abilities (e.g. [[MMX (instruction set)|MMX]]) and companies began to push [[Hardware Abstraction Layer]]s, like [[DirectX]], the AWE and GUS range became obsolete. DirectX, [[Windows Driver Model|WDM]] and, now more commonly, [[Audio Stream Input/Output|ASIO]], deliver high-quality sampled audio irrespective of hardware brand.

There was also a split off from the sample based trackers taking advantage of the [[Yamaha YM3812|OPL2]] and [[Yamaha YMF262|OPL3]] chips of the Sound Blaster series. All Sound Tracker was able to combine both the FM synthesis of the OPL chips and the sample based synthesis of the EMU-8000 chips in the Sound Blaster AWE series of cards as well as MIDI output to any additional hardware of choice.

[[Jeskola Buzz]] is a modular music studio developed from 1997 to 2000 for Microsoft Windows using a tracker as its sequencer where the sounds were produced by virtual machines (Buzzmachines) such as signal generators, synthesizer emulators, drum computers, samplers, effects and control machines, that where connected in a modular setup. Each machine would have its own tracker, drum machines would use a tracker-like drum pattern editor and effect and control machines could be automated tracker-like via tables of parameters.

=== 2000s: Multiple platforms ===
[[File:Schism Tracker - Beyond The Network.png|thumb|Schism Tracker, a [[clone (computing)|clone]] of [[Impulse Tracker]], running on [[Windows 11]] with a [[text mode]] [[GUI]] playing the module "Beyond the Network" from the video game ''[[Bejeweled 2]]'' by Finnish composer [[Peter Hajba|Skaven]].]]
Tracker music could be found in [[computer game]]s of the late 1990s and early 2000s, such as the [[Unreal (video game series)|''Unreal'' series]], ''[[Deus Ex (video game)|Deus Ex]]'', ''[[Crusader: No Remorse]]'', ''[[Jazz Jackrabbit]]'' and ''[[Uplink (video game)|Uplink]]''. Some of the early Amiga trackers such as [[Protracker]] (1990) and OctaMED have received various updates, mostly for porting to other platforms. Protracker having resumed development in 2004, with plans for releasing version 5 to Windows and [[AmigaOS]], but only version 4.0 beta 2 for AmigaOS has been released.

[[File:Renoise 2.6.png|thumb|290px|[[Renoise]], a popular tracker in the 2000s and 2010s.]]
During 2007, [[Renoise]] (PC, 2002) and [[OpenMPT]] (PC, 1997) were presented in ''[[Computer Music (magazine)|Computer Music Magazine]]'' as professional and inexpensive alternative to other music production software.<ref name=cmm>{{cite journal |journal=Computer Music Magazine |date=June 2007 |title=Top Trackers |issue=113 |publisher=Future Publishing Ltd |url=http://www.musicradar.com/computermusic/computer-music-june-issue-cmu113-on-sale-now-246001 |access-date=11 January 2017 |quote=Tracker! The amazing free music software giving the big boys a run for their money.}}</ref>

Modern trackers include, but are not limited to, Deflemask,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deflemask.com/|title=DefleMask – The best Chiptune tracker|access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref> FamiTracker,<ref>{{Cite web |title=FamiTracker |url=http://famitracker.com/ |accessdate=29 March 2023 |website=famitracker.com |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322161325/http://www.famitracker.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> VGM Music Maker,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://megacatstudios.com/blogs/retro-development/creating-music-and-sound-for-the-sega-genesis-mega-drive-a-primer-for-using-the-vgm-music-maker | title=Creating Music and Sound for the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive: A Primer for Using the VGM Music Maker | date=30 March 2021 }}</ref> Furnace <ref>{{cite web | url=https://github.com/tildearrow/furnace | title=Furnace (Chiptune tracker) | website=[[GitHub]] }}</ref> (which currently is the only tracker allowing multiple [[sound chips]] from multiple systems to be played simultaneously (for example, [[Commodore 64]] and [[PC-98]] together.)), and [[SunVox]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=WarmPlace.ru. SunVox Modular Music Studio |url=https://www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.warmplace.ru}}</ref> (Music Tracker with modular synth engine and a free form, dynamic length pattern timeline system)

== Hardware ==
The earliest trackers existed to get closer to the hardware of a given machine, allowing memory-light playback of music ideal for games and similar programs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Obarski |first1=Karsten |title=Amiga Music Preservation - Karsten Obarski |url=https://amp.dascene.net/detail.php?view=3982&detail=interview |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Amiga Music Preservation}}</ref> Keeping in theme with this philosophy, a few "hardware trackers" have emerged: specialized hardware designed specifically to host tracker software, in turn designed to exploit the hardware of the machine. These hardware trackers are largely inspired by LittleSoundDJ,<ref>{{cite web |title=Nerdsynth - XOR Electronics |url=https://xor-electronics.com/nerdsynth/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=XOR Electronics}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dirtywave |url=https://dirtywave.com/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Dirtywave}}</ref> a tracker created for the original [[Game Boy]].

The first such hardware tracker released was the NerdSeq in 2018, a hybrid tracker-sequencer for [[Eurorack]] systems. As a module of said system, it cannot be used alone, and the "tracker" portion of the device is simply used as an interface to [[Music sequencer|sequence]], while the hardware is used to handle sampling and other functions.

The first standalone hardware tracker released was the Polyend Tracker in 2020, a [[USB]]-powered device with all the functions of a software tracker. It was met with mostly positive critical reception,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Truss |first1=Si |title=Polyend Tracker review {{pipe}} Music Radar |url=https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/polyend-tracker |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Music Radar|date=22 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Terrence |title=Polyend Tracker review: A powerful but confounding groovebox |url=https://www.engadget.com/polyend-tracker-groovebox-sampler-review-170118746.html |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Engadget}}</ref> with critics citing a modest price point, standalone all-in-one capability, and intuitive controls. In 2021, DirtyWave released the M8 Tracker, a portable tracker that is more heavily inspired by [[Little Sound DJ]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Synth Anatomy |title=DirtyWave M8, Battery-Operated Handheld Synth & Tracker |url=https://synthanatomy.com/2020/09/dirtywave-m8-new-open-source-battery-operated-handheld-synth-tracker.html |access-date=27 April 2024 |website=Synth Anatomy}}</ref>

== Terminology ==
{{See also|Module file}}
There are several elements common to any tracker program: samples, notes, effects, tracks (or channels), patterns, and orders.

A [[sampling (music)|sample]] is a small digital sound file of an instrument, voice, or other sound effect. Most trackers allow a part of the sample to be looped, simulating a [[sustain]] of a note.

A [[Musical note|note]] designates the frequency at which the sample is played back. By increasing or decreasing the playback speed of a digital sample, the pitch is raised or lowered, simulating instrumental notes (e.g., C, C#, D, etc.).

An effect is a special function applied to a particular note. These effects are then applied during playback through either hardware or software. Common tracker effects include volume, [[portamento]], [[vibrato]], [[retrigger]], and [[arpeggio]].

A track (or channel) is a space where one sample is played back at a time. Whereas the original [[Amiga]] trackers only provided four tracks, the hardware limit, modern trackers can mix a virtually unlimited number of channels into one sound stream through software mixing. Tracks have a fixed number of "rows" on which notes and effects can be placed (most trackers lay out tracks in a vertical fashion). Tracks typically contain 64 rows and 16 beats, although the beats, rows and tempo can be increased or decreased to the composer's taste.

A basic drum set could thus be arranged by putting a bass drum at rows 0, 4, 8, 12 etc. of one track and putting some hi hat at rows 2, 6, 10, 14 etc. of a second track. Of course, bass and hats could be interleaved on the same track, if the samples are short enough. If not, the previous sample is usually stopped when the next one begins. Some modern trackers simulate [[polyphony (instrument)|polyphony]] in a single track by setting the "new note action" of each instrument to cut, continue, [[fade (audio engineering)|fade]] out, or [[ADSR envelope|release]], opening new mixing channels as necessary.

A pattern is a group of simultaneously played tracks that represents a full section of the song. A pattern usually represents an even number of [[bar (music)|measures]] of music composition.

An order is part of a sequence of patterns that defines the layout of a song. Patterns can be repeated across multiple orders to save tracking time and file space.

There are also some tracker-like programs that utilize tracker-style sequencing schemes, while using real-time sound synthesis instead of samples. Many of these programs are designed for creating music for a particular synthesizer chip such as the OPL chips of the Adlib and SoundBlaster sound cards, or the sound chips of classic home computers.

Tracker music is typically stored in [[module file]]s where the song data and samples are encapsulated in a single file. Several module file formats are supported by popular [[Comparison of audio player software|audio players]]. Well-known formats include [[MOD (file format)|MOD]], [[OctaMED|MED]], [[S3M (file format)|S3M]], [[XM (file format)|XM]] and [[IT (file format)|IT]]. Many of these formats can also be imported into existing trackers, allowing to view arrangement, instrumentation and the use of effect commands. This also makes the self-teaching of music composition using trackers easier and allows to extract instruments for later use in own songs, which was very common.<ref name="modlove2">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/technology/feature/1999/04/29/mod_trackers/index.html |title=Mod love |work=[[Salon.com]] |last=Leonard |first=Andrew |date=1999-04-29 |publisher=Salon Media Group |access-date=2010-05-17 |quote=You get to see exactly how the song was put together: what samples were used, how they were played, what instruments worked together to create certain sections.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025040018/http://www.salon.com/1999/04/29/mod_trackers/|archive-date=2012-10-25}}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{annotated link|Overdubbing}}
* {{annotated link|Digital audio workstation}}
* [[Modular software music studio]]
* [[List of music software]]
* [[Computer game music]]
* [[:Category:Chiptune and tracker musicians|Chiptune and tracker musicians]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book | title = Music and technoculture | author = René T. A. Lysloff, Leslie C. Gay | edition = illustrated | publisher = [[Wesleyan University Press]] | year = 2003 | pages = [https://books.google.com/books?id=MPRBF1wqmcoC&pg=PA37&vq=mod+demo+scene&dq=demoscene+subculture&cad=0 37–38], [https://books.google.com/books?id=MPRBF1wqmcoC&pg=PA50&vq=mod+demo+scene 50] [https://books.google.com/books?id=MPRBF1wqmcoC&pg=PA58&vq=mod+scene+subcultural+subculture 58] | isbn = 978-0-8195-6513-6}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Trackers (music software)|Tracker software}}
* [[Andrew Sega|Andrew 'Necros' Sega]]: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLD_iX9nik8 Taking Tracking Mainstream] is a tracker history presentation on the 2007 [[Notacon]]
* [http://helllabs.org/tracker-history/ Tracker History Graphing Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726144718/http://helllabs.org/tracker-history/ |date=2011-07-26 }} lineage of music trackers by Claudio Matsuoka
* [https://resources.openmpt.org/tracker_handbook/handbook.htm The Tracker's Handbook], an introduction to tracking

{{Computer music}}
{{Independent production}}

[[Category:Amiga software]]
[[Category:Audio trackers|*]]
[[Category:Demoscene]]
[[Category:Music software]]
[[Category:Video game music technology]]