Musical Progress.

So far this year I've just been making as much music as I can with my Gameboy. After receiving my copy of LSDJ however, it has taken the majority of my chipmusic time.

I have recently been working with Oliver Wittchow's(author of nanoloop)software nanovoice.(http://www.nanoloop.com/nv.html)
Nanovoice is strange in that while it plays the role of a 16 step sequencer, it does things a bit differently.

"Nanovoice does not play Game Boy specific sounds with the console's built-in synth functions but implements its own synthesis scheme while the soundchip is misused as D/A converter. Digital audio output is realized via amplitude modulation of the Game Boy's two rectangular wave generators, resulting in a 4-bit stereo audio stream with a variable sampling frequency below 4 kHz."

This means nanovoice is capable of producing some very interesting sounds(often droning and very minimal) whilst still maintaining the lo-fi signature of the gameboy.
The sounds pulsate, warble and often have a very soundscapely sound to them.

One of the composition techniques I've been playing with while using nanovoice, is to implement Conway's Game of Life(http://www.ibiblio.org/lifepatterns/) in a 16X16 grid, as offered by nanovoice.

After coming up with an initial setup, I work out 5 or so generations, normally more than enough material for a lengthy track. I then hit record, and begin plotting in each generation, creating a gradual, build from the minimalistic 2 note sequences, to complex hyperpaced melodies.

I've also been using several "rule sets" to aid this process.

The first is the simplest, once a generation is complete, I simply begin building the next, erasing and adding cells where needed, choosing without much thought, the volume level of each cell.

The second, involves each cell being set on the mid volume level in the first generation, when it comes time for the second, new cells are added at the mid volume level, cells that have died fade down one step, and cells that have remained move up a step.

The third rule set is the most time consuming, as it requires changing volume levels dependent on the number of adjacent cells. Preempting the death of a cell, or birth of a new cell.


This has been an interesting method of composition, leading to unexpected results, some of which can be heard in the following

nanolife

here are the(tiny) scores for the first and third tracks

Gameboys

The following is a very brief history of Nintendo's Gameboy line.

The original Nintendo Gameboy(refferred to as the DMG) was introduced by Nintendo in 1989, since then, many newer updated models have been released, ranging from the original DMG's dot matrix screen and lo-fi sound processor, to the most recent Dsi with dual backlit screens, touch screen interface, and ability to play back cd quality sound files.

An overview of the consoles specs can be found on wikipedia.org, but here are some of the more important features.

• CPU: Custom 8-bit Sharp LR35902 core at 4.19 MHz which is similar to an Intel 8080 in that all of the registers introduced in the Z80 are not present.

• Sound: 2 Square Waves, 1 programmable 32-sample 4-bit PCM Wave, 1 White noise, and one audio input from the cartridge. The unit only has one speaker, but headphones provide stereo sound.

• Screen size: 66mm (2.6 in) diagonal

• Communication: Up to 2 Game Boys can be linked together via built-in serial ports, up to 4 with a DMG-07 4-player adapter. More than 4 players is possible by chaining adapters.

The console itself is quite limiting in what can be done with it in this respect. 4 channels of audio, one of noise(generally referred to as a pseudo-random noise generator rather than specifically white noise), and such a tiny screen size make this a much less versatile and usable platform than a modern computer.

Usability becomes a further issue when forced to navigate menus and software using the simple controller layout of the console, which consists of a 4 direction pad, “a” and “b” buttons, as well as “start” and “select” buttons.

This layout however has proved itself quite usable in software such as LSDJ and Nanoloop, the most commonly used software for creating music on the console.

In 1995, the Gameboy Pocket was released, which featured hardware as the DMG, but in a slimmed down case, and with a black and white screen, instead of the DMG's “shades of green.” This particular console is notorious for having a noisier output than most others.

Almost 10 years after the DMG's release, Nintendo released the console's follow up, the Gameboy Colour.

The Gameboy Colour(GBC) featured a colour screen, capable of showing 56 colours simultaneously from a possible 32,786. It also made use of a processor twice as fast as its predecessors.

In 2001, the Gameboy Advance(GBA) was released. With an upgrade to a 32bit processor, as well as backwards compatability with older software and sound synthesis using an 8/4mhz Z80 clone as was used in previous models. It also featured a bigger screen, ability to show more colours, and two new shoulder buttons, allowing more control options. However, a new link cable port meant it was not possible to interface with older models. Like the DMG and Gameboy Pocket, the GBA received updates in the form of the Gameboy SP, with smaller size, and backlit screen, and the Gameboy Micro, which left behind backwards compatability, for a much smaller size.

The follow up to the GBA series, was the Nintendo DS (NDS) which incorporated a dual screen system, with one of the screens having touch screen capabilities. It also featured improved backlight, and dual processors running at 67 and 33mhz. By this stage, sound production was far beyond the simple hardware based synthesis of the DMG.

Sebastian Tomczak's comparison of sound quality of various Gameboy models can be found here (http://www.milkcrate.com.au/_other/gbc/content.html)