How to Make 8-Bit Music (two free methods)

💥🎶🎮 FREE VGM AND COMPOSITION RESOURCES 💥🎶🎮
1. Start with my free 1.5-hour course on becoming a game composer. We'll go over composition, arrangement, business, and more! 🎓 composer-code.ck.page/e5e7c20b73
2. Next, download my cheat sheet of 83 💻FREE💻 plugins, software, and resources to help you create amazing VGM. 🎹 composer-code.ck.page/2ece474751
3. If you're ready for even more, consider joining my Fundamentals of Game Composition course! 🎵 With several free lessons available, you'll be on your way to composing like a pro! 🔥 matt-s-school-cb6a.thinkific....
4. Check out my favorite gear, software, tools, and equipment for making VGM. 🎧 composercode.com/equipment-fo... RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO:
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83 Free Resources for Game Composers: composer-code.ck.page/81b6b10522
NES VST plugin: www.mattmontag.com/projects-p...
Deflemask Tracker: deflemask.com/
Ultimate Guide to Become a Video Game Composer: composercode.com/guide/
CHAPTERS FOR EASY ACCESS:
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0:00 - Intro
0:29 - First method (VST)
1:04 - NES VST
2:30 - "Authentic" chiptune
5:01 - Second method (tracker)
6:53 - Composing in Deflemask
12:00 - Finished track
13:00 - 8-bit composition tips
17:20 - Free composition resources
VIDEO SYNOPSIS:
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Hey!
In this video, I’m going to teach you two methods for making authentic 8-bit chiptune music, like that produced by the NES, GameBoy, and Commodore 64 sound chip, entirely for free.
I’m also going to give you some compositional tips to make your 8-bit music even better.
8-bit music has made a significant resurgence in the past decade with many high-profile indie games utilizing it as their main sound palette. Apart from games, there’s a thriving chiptune community that enjoys making this kind of music just for fun.
So let’s talk about how you can do that, too.
So the first method for making 8-bit music is to use a free VST instrument inside of your digital audio workstation. I’m using Reaper for my DAW and this NES VST is the best one I’ve found on the web.
Now if you’re wanting to make just general 8-bit chiptune, you’re not looking to emulate a particular console or sound chip, you can just pluck away and use this sound palette however you want.
But, in my experience, it’s more fun to limit yourself to try to actually create something that could have been played on the NES or GameBoy or Commodore 64 or whatever.
In this case, you’ll want to do a little bit of research on the sound chip you’re trying to emulate because there are differences.
For example, the NES has five sound channels. Two square wave channels, a triangle wave channel, a noise generator channel, and a DPCM sample channel, which could play very, very low-quality samples, like the iconic bongo sound from Super Mario Bros 3.
The Gameboy had a different setup, as well as the Commodore 64.
Now we don’t have access to the original software composers in the NES era used, but a tracker is about as close as we can get to replicating it.
A tracker is a free piece of software that emulates how retro chip music was composed... GEAR AND RESOURCES
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Composer Code podcast and blog: www.composercode.com
Making Game Music (My Game Composition Course): matt-s-school-cb6a.thinkific....
Canon M50: amzn.to/3uC5BRi
Sennheiser MKE 400 On-Camera Shotgun Microphone: amzn.to/3JZyNIr
DaVinci Resolve: www.blackmagicdesign.com/prod...
Reaper: www.reaper.fm/
AKM320 MIDI keyboard: amzn.to/3LyeCSe
Focusrite SCARLETT SOLO: amzn.to/3LyeCSe
Rode NT1-A Condenser Microphone: amzn.to/3tRGzP8

[@cerberusalphagaminginc1904]

I love this video, game music is something I always wanted to do but I grew up poor and never had a chance to invest in that education, now at the age of 41 I’m afraid I’m too old learn but I’m still going to try. Thanks so much for the upload 👍🏾

[@composercode]

Dude, 41 is NOTHING. You have your whole life ahead of you

[@Ceriummm]

how is it going for you, Cerberus? would be cool to see how you are going with this journey!

[@Franktasy7]

I agree! Your still young to do anything dude

[@sealyseal3462]

Dude you’ve got this!!! It doesn’t matter your age, you can learn!!!

[@GamePlaySStuff]

You are truly an inspiration, don’t surrender!!

[@carl.christiansson]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! I have a passion for creating 8-bit versions of Bach's music and this really helps me getting started for real, great video

[@composercode]

Glad it's helpful!

[@carl.christiansson]

@@composercode Noticed that NES VST doesn't work in Waveform which I use since I guess it's a 32 bit VST, so have to use Reaper instead

[@carl.christiansson]

@@composercode Also, if you got time I really need help with one thing. I have also tested Magical 8-bit VST a lot which I still prefer since you can change stuff like Attack, Release and more. I can't understand how to change those settings in the NES VST, probably because I'm an amateur, but it's really annoying me that I can't have a little longer release, it sounds like every note stops very "abrubtly" if you get what I mean

[@_MandoCalrissian]

what program you use?

[@Redhollow]

Barbershop Quartets are an excellent way of learning about contrapuntal music. I learned a lot from hymns, but when I started to sing in a quartet and got hands on experience with each voice, I gained a huge appreciation for looking at voicings horizontally instead of just vertically.

[@composercode]

That’s absolutely true. I imagine actually singing within a barbershop quartet (as opposed to simply analyzing quartet scores) is so educational as well. Also, it sounds really fun. Would love to do that one day. :)

[@idxman01]

NEC PC Engine - That's a console which was more popular in japan and was called the TurboGrafx 16 in the US. Loved it... :)

[@AndreVanZark]

Wow that composition with deflemask was amazing

[@composercode]

Thanks!

[@FarOutJunk]

This is the most accessible, realistic chiptune/Deflemask video I found in my search, and it got me started on this whole new creative track. Great job with this.

[@composercode]

Thank you!! I'm actually planning to release more Deflemask content soon, even potentially a full course. Stay tuned!

[@-originalLemon-]

You're only saying that because you're lucky you can do this yourself, because this isn't easy when you try to do it on your phone while using bandlab!

[@tjmixmasta]

That finished track was SMOOTH; great tutorial!

[@composercode]

Thanks homie!

[@morio9284]

i love all the melodys that you have created in this video. especially the finished track is super awsome.

[@nickzema4200]

Dude, I am watching this video randomly in my youtube feed. When you made the point about removing the 5th in a chord, as it isn't needed, I'm like... "That's true, it isn't. That's pretty smart. Who is this guy? I'm gonna sub." I look at your name and I go, "Oh crap, that's Matt." LOL

[@composercode]

LOL! DUDE! Small world. Good to hear from you :)

[@abhijeetsaraf7887]

Definetely in for video game composition. Thanks so much for these resources. :D

[@kevinarmes9804]

Dude this is good stuff. Very fun! Takes me back to childhood game days like Dragon Warrior and Willow and Zelda and Mario

[@rayderrich]

I happen to have made my first chiptune attempt of a song today (posting it on the 18th) and this led me to watch your video to actually see if I was completely wrong lol. I should have watched you first of course, learned cool things here. Thanks!

[@composercode]

Thanks for watching!

[@chrispybee]

I love how people are still using trackers! Back in 1990 is when I started to play with trackers on the Atari ST such as Protracker and TCB Tracker. After a while I got myself an Amiga and hooked it up to my MIDI keyboards using Octamed. Then I had tracker style writing but with full on midi and using samples from the Amiga. We did all this by jumping right in to the tracker and learning off people’s demos that I hand ripped from games and other demos. What a time to be alive.

[@composercode]

That's sick!! I haven't played with any of those particular trackers, but I love that. I'll have to check those out.

[@chrispybee]

@@composercode you’ll have to crack open an emulator for the Atari ST for TCB Tracker. It was written by An Cool who was one of The Care Bears demo group. Really does give you a different tracker experience and also how limited music making was back then in this form, unlike the VST world we live in today.

[@composercode]

@@chrispybee Nice! Planning on making a more in-depth video about trackers soon.

[@Foster_MSX]

Welcome to the club! The 90's was the heyday of trackers, I used Atari 65XE and CMC, I still use them. Great times!

[@shibii]

Man I loved the video SO MUCH! I was on the premiere, but at work, couldn’t wait to get back from work and watch it again properly!

[@composercode]

Thanks so much! Glad you dug it. Next week we’ll be learning about 16-bit composition 😎

[@thethriftyfawn]

I wasn't even looking for this, but glad youtube recommended it to me! LOVE 8-bit NES music!!! 😍😍😍 So fascinating to get an idea on how it's made. Great job Matt!

[@composercode]

Awesome!! Thanks for watching :)

[@michael_emm]

Nice! That last tune had an 8bit trap beat vibe lol. Awesome. I'm gonna have to try this out.

[@arthurmurfitt7698]

Thank you, Matt! Looking forward to having fun messing around w this stuff 🙂

[@composercode]

Thanks for watching!

[@AARVMUSIC]

Great tips! Trackers are very intimidating but there's something that just makes me want to try them someday

[@composercode]

It’s really fun! It’s like discovering a new instrument. It makes you compose in an entirely new way.

[@shadowchasernql]

If you are using trackers, I would recommend using a general purpose one like OpenMPT, which doesn't have any fancy things like emulated mixing, but is a lot more general purpose, and lets you use a lot more than just beeps. Of course you can always import chiptune samples, and people have been doing it like that for decades, but it's nice to know.

[@Planetugm]

amazing job bro! what a tune!!!

[@mugogrog]

Thanks for showing me that nice VST :) It's getting used in a project immediately. I have used Tweakbench VSTs for a long time but I liked how pure this one was.

[@lincolnyongbroadrickss6513]

It amazes me significantly that 8-bit is crazy.

[@DanAbsalonson]

Another awesome video!!! Also that track was killer 🔥

[@composercode]

Thanks man!

[@hotbutteredcrumpets]

Thank you. The tracker looks awesome.

[@MrResille]

I love this!!! Thank you so much Now I need this but based on GBA sound hardware

[@MalonMateria]

great video, i learned a lot, thanks so much :)

[@dancingpanda1179]

I just stumbled upon your channel and I love your stuff! I just finished watching your How to write Megaman style music video and wondering if you will tackle other videogame styles in the future that has a distinct style to them, like say Castlevania perhaps? :)

[@composercode]

Oh snap!! Never looked into Castlevania. I would like to eventually!

[@muddasheep]

Very useful video, and that track was awesome!

[@composercode]

Thank you!

[@herrvorragend8135]

your track was awesome! thanks for the video!

[@composercode]

Glad you liked it!

[@CNTRRNDM]

Great tutorial, mate! Nice one!!!

[@composercode]

Thank you!

[@Jax_4200]

I want to make just plain weird music with a chiptune sound, kinda like Lemon Demon but my own thing. This was pretty useful :)

[@polibix]

lemn denom

[@KGB.Official]

lmn demn

[@juliusfucik4011]

I remember going to a friend's house and him showing me a text tracker for the PC in 1991. At that point I had only known a basic Amiga tracker... Then for decades after I had used trackers like Noisetracker and Screamtracker. Great stuff till this day.

[@8BitAndChill]

Woohoo 8 bit music!! I dig it 😄

[@Simulonix]

Cheers for the NES VST heads up, grabbing that now. I'm now using reaper and renoise mostly as I originally used an Amiga 1200 and OctaMED back in the day.

[@wil3757]

Hey Matt! I truly enjoyed your presentation on how to start making 8-bit music. It was clear, well-paced, entertaining, and incredibly useful. I'm so happy to have discovered the little trove of knowledge that is this channel. I think I've finally found the help I need to take that big first step into composition. Consider yourself to have earned a new follower. :) Oh, and I would love to hear future updates on that fundamentals of game audio course.

[@composercode]

Thanks so much, William! I really appreciate you following me and hope my content is helpful! I’m encouraged by your comment :) Is there anything else in particular you’d like to learn more about?

[@andreasgronlund8769]

Thank You very much! Matt, u are simply awesome! Keep it up man! :)

[@composercode]

Thank you!

[@mrgold5261]

Track was such a banger!

[@f4rz102]

There is also the LSDJ Tracker for the gameboy, you can use it both in an Emulator but also on an actual gameboy.

[@netneedingsystems2318]

wow thanks for sharing!

[@sapien82]

cool video , that Deflemask reminds me of making music on the amiga 500

[@csj9619]

That looks like alot of fun!

[@arcadesunday4592]

Awesome video, and great recommendations.

[@composercode]

thank you!

[@Foster_MSX]

Nice vid, did no knowe this VST plugin. Thanks! I compose on Atari, the soundchip name Pokey :) Cheers, to all 8 bit chiptunes funs!

[@StickyBeatsOfficial]

The very beginning of this gave me huge Blaster Master vibes

[@dickstertyp7671]

bämm, thats really nice, i thought back sitting in front of my c64, it was a wonderful time

[@LukeSly91]

Some excellent composing man

[@composercode]

Thank you!

[@LukeSly91]

​@@composercodeNp man. It took me by surprise to be honest lol. May I ask, are you a fulltime game composer?

[@composercode]

Not a full-time composer, but I do various music-related things full-time :) I'll take on projects that seem exciting to me though! @@LukeSly91

[@Emily_M81]

ooh, never seen this VST; I've been using Magical 8bit Plug 2. Thanks for sharing. as far as "fake bit" or whatever goes, I've used my OP-1 and Sample Science has a lot of drum machines ran through the NES PCM channel to lofi them. Deflemask is new to me too lol. Nice. I only have experience with Jeskola Buzz and Renoise. Anyway, great video and songs.

[@BryPazReacts]

Certain games were able to add more melodic channels which was pretty crazy. One of the Castlevania games managed this

[@EtherealLifeRecords]

Man, Matt, this is an awesome video. Thank you for being so generous with all this info, the resources, and your demos! Additionally, I was wondering what other (alternative) routes have you found for monetizing your VGM beyond work-fore-hire type composer roles; also, particularly licensing your tracks?

[@composercode]

Thanks dude! Google "how to become a video game composer" and check out the top result (Composer Code), I wrote a huge blog post on it!

[@EtherealLifeRecords]

@@composercode I went to check out the tracker and now it's a paid program. Although, they offer the older - original? - as their Legacy (free) version. It's offered as a downloadable .rar file, but I don't know how to utilize that in order to use it. Do you know anything about this kind of thing?

[@composercode]

@@EtherealLifeRecords Google "unzip rar file" you should find some software that can help

[@NickEnchev]

That midiman controller brings me waaaay back. Used to have one of those, until it died on me.

[@potat-o-]

omg that dog is living his best live and i love it

[@mykepenney3189]

Amazing video. Does the NES VST plug work on Mac?

[@fretnoize]

I used NES VST for an 8-bit album for sync licensing. It's actually had lots of TV placements, including a primetime globally syndicated sitcom. The trick is to fully study the limitations of the hardware and adhere to them strictly. On top of that, study the methods composers used to work around those limitations as best they could, and replicate those techniques too. That will get it sounding at least 95% authentic, which is all you need, unless you're an absolute purist, then use hardware (and that is cool too, it'd be very fun to work with hardware)... personally I've tried a few times over the years and could just never vibe with trackers. Sure I could work with them, but it slows me down considerably.

[@EtherealLifeRecords]

That's awesome! How did you get that kind of music licensed: library, agent/agency, supervisor, or...? Also, can you mention which placements, or at least the most "fitting" ones?

[@revol113]

Brilliant video, thank you Matt! Feeling very inspired

[@emt2323]

so good vibes, I'd love to do a trap beat in this style

[@youngmeteorologist8894]

Famitracker is also another free software

[@composercode]

Famitracker is good, but I found Deflemask to be much more feature-rich and have a wider variety of soundchips. I'll have to check out FT again to see if they've updated it :)

[@kaydgaming]

You look exactly how I’d expect a person making this video to look

[@esmooth919]

1:02 I used this one to make my gaming theme song! (FL Studios here)

[@helloween76]

Two free methods!? You sir, are a saint

[@alexshi-ban6825]

I like it!❤❤❤

[@portlandlocalchurch8168]

((Woe)) Awesome video and planetastic grooves man.... Thanks for sharing 😮❤😊🎉

[@composercode]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SnackCannon]

Your drum samples are heat, did you make those or get those for free somewhere? Soundfont?

[@composercode]

The ones from the DAW came with NES VST, I believe. The percussion in the tracker was made through a noise channel (high hat) and a very fast descending sine wave (kind of imitates an 808 bass sound).

[@Corummo]

Sunvox is THE choice for synth-alike retro music. Milkytracker is THE choice for 16-bit era. If you need synthesised samples to utilize, BXFR can generate them.

[@rachelwindsor850]

That Deflemask tune slaps pretty hard, honestly.

[@seafull49]

Yes I’d like to learn

[@keechad1527]

Came out pretty sickk track

[@composercode]

Thanks!

[@flashback4588]

14:00 whats the name of the background song,?? Sounds so fun

[@legacypython3831]

How popular is Reaper with places like universities and workplaces? Because I want to get a DAW after my GCSEs, but I want to use one that I could continue to use if and when I get a job in composing after uni (so a good 5 years away)

[@shadowchasernql]

My weapon of choice is a generic tracker like OpenMPT and just using chiptune samples the conventional way. That way I can mix in things like high-quality drum samples.

[@smooks0909]

I am unable to open the files due to me not having an app on my windows 11 to open them, what would you recommend? Also, this is really cool!

[@phillreal]

Regarding the NES VST: Any idea where to find drum sounds that would be a good fit to use in the DCPM sample channel? 🙏Thanks so much Matt; this was soo helpful, and I'm very impressed with your music theory knowledge! +1

[@composercode]

No problem! I use Super Audio Cart for drum sounds, but you could also download some free kick and snare samples and run them through a bitcrusher to get that chiptune sound.

[@phillreal]

​@@composercode ​Thanks a ton. Checking out Super Audio Cart now :) Much love Matt!

[@monksee]

Hey. Great video! I was wondering do you remember the Flip phones that came out in around 2003. I had a sharp GX25 and there was a polyphonic ringtone composer on it. I used to love it. I was wondering were these 8 bit tones? I think there were 128 different instrument options in the composer and you could have either 16 or 32 tracks.

[@composercode]

Haha that's awesome. I'm not sure actually! I would imagine if it's not 8-bit it'd be pretty darn close.

[@monksee]

Interesting :)

[@gyozajoe]

Amazing video! I'm beginning a video project and channel, and in addition to license-free music I am thinking of adding my own 8-bit compositions to the mix. For video I'll be using PowerDirector most likely, I have experience with it and its fairy intuitive. Music composition is where I lack experience - can you recommend a good all-around composition suite for music, much like PowerDirector works for video? Also, can you recommend one or two pieces of beginner-level hardware that will give me a good start toward composing my own music? The goal is to be able to incorporate self-recorded sound effects and also plug in a guitar or keyboard and create simple background riffs and licks, and I would also like to include NES VST. Thanks so much! Liked and Subscribed!

[@composercode]

I'd recommend Reaper!

[@coolbro6969]

excellent

[@mandrias]

FYI: NEC PC-Engine was called the TurboGrafx-16 in the USA

[@Verbalaesthet]

I've downloaded the NES VST but it is just a DLL file. There is no such cool audio programme like shown on your screen. What are you using there and how do I get it?

[@mitschcrafter6766]

I have a question. I want to restore the vocals to some of the songs in Wario Land 4. Mainly the ending song. They are old, compressed, and crushed for the System. The original recordings are behind Nintendos closed doors. I've tried many ways, including.. Gulp.. Ai... But nothing really works. How would you go about restoring 8bit/16bit compressed audio / vocals?

[@DNHarris]

I'd love to see Deflemask incorporate the Paula chipset used on the Commodore Amiga family. You wouldn't see anything on CrApple or Soundblaster-enhanced IBM-compatible computers for nearly a decade.

[@SomersetStudentWork]

what if you don't understand music outside of the 'earphone goes in the ear'.... what program do you get first and, without a keyboard, how do you essentially put one note in front of the other.

[@unizock764]

Super Video

[@MichaelVash7886]

I am working on game dev and am consisdring learning nes and snes styles of muaic as part of that. Any snes recommendations? Also, beyond music theory what subjects should i look at? I am debating if chip tunes would be eaiser to statt with. I feel like I have 100 questions haha.

[@durpy8725]

pls help its a plug in nes vst plugin what is the actual app used to make the music thats is free

[@ejtassin2808]

YO! THANK YA FOR THE NES-VST THING THAT I CAN USE TO MAKE A 8-BIT SOUNDTRACK WITH TO COOK WITH, THANKS FOR THE TUTORIAL, I JUST HAVE ONE THING HERE, I DOWNLOADED THE NES VST THING BUT UH, HOW DO I ADD THE NES VST PROJECT TO MY COMPUTER?

[@TsaliWasituna]

This appeared randomly on my suggested feed just when I was starting to think about what I needed to do to start composing my partners wrestling "Tron" song.

[@antoniojuarez2287]

instant sub

[@jeremiahaticf]

I thoroughly enjoyed your composercode breakdown of iconic composers…. However, what an injustice to not include Matt Uelmen…. Diablo franchise composer…. 😅 Great Vids and great knowledge, thanks dude

[@composercode]

Great suggestion!

[@-BONELESS-]

you should take a look at FamiStudio, its like a DAW and a Tracker made sweet love and this is their beautiful baby, so im pretty sure you'd like it. Also its free

[@composercode]

I will!

[@HyperCube78]

when i open the nes vst folder, the nes vst is an adobe acrobat reader file and i cant open it in fl studio how do i fix this?

[@Hammerjockeyrepair]

his plugin doesnt work for my mac, I just get a dll file instead of vst and cant figure out what to do

[@jlewwis1995]

Deflemask just so happened to go paid last year sometime after this video came out :/ So I'd recommend using Furnace instead, it's basically deflemask but open source and free, also the rate of updates for furnace is waaay faster than defle and new chips are getting added all the time (snes is in the process of being added right now which defle doesn't even have yet), hell furnace even has the pong soundchip lmao. A big W for FOSS overall imo

[@composercode]

No kidding. I’ll have to check that out. Been looking for a SNES tracker for ages.

[@luig1923]

cool. can I use this Vst to make commercial music? is there some kind of license that prevents it?

[@composercode]

Not to my knowledge! Go for it.

[@elizabethryan1987]

Where do I download Nintendo VST I can't find it on the website?

[@composercode]

www.mattmontag.com/projects-page/nintendo-vst

[@NinjofNature]

I need help I cannot figure out how to open the file (for the NES VST). I have tried to put it into the command prompt by typing "regsvr32 NES VST 1.2.dll" but it doesn't work, and I can't open it any other way

[@darrenhirst9900]

Fin, Noggin, Dude 😂 Dude this is so cool thank you.

[@composercode]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@darrenhirst9900]

@@composercode I did bro it was amazing. Thanks again.

[@Weneedaplague]

There's a plugin for the YM2612 genesis chip. I forget the name but it is just a vst

[@JeremyDiBenedetto]

Is there a way to get the NES VST on Mac? It only installs as a .dll file. Mac can't use .dll files, only .vst files for plugins.

[@avace917]

NEC PC was also known as the Turbographix 16

[@HellGaymer]

What do I do after I extract the NES VST?

[@greenin5537]

11:17 sounds similar to a final fantasy ost from the first games.

[@SMAAAASHTV]

It's absolutely a variation of Kefka's Theme in FF6.

[@garythesquidsquid7779]

stupid question, do i need a synth keyboard for this tracker

[@zoeyzou7138]

Amazing video! Wish the NES VST Matt created has a Mac version🥲... Wondering if you have any recommendations on an alternative NES VST that works on Mac & Cubase? Thx so much!

[@composercode]

I'm sure there are other VSTs, I'd just Google it :) I also really like Super Audio Cart if you want a specific recommendation.