C64 Wally Beben's Tetris music oscilloscope view

[@Delta225]

NES/GB: Classic stuff. Tetris DS: Kinda cool. Tetris 99: Awesome! Tetris Effect/CD-i: It's... Perfect... C64: H O L Y S H I T

[@DerpDerp3001]

If this was the official tetris theme.

[@elevown]

@Bruce Da Moose To be fair it was fine for a casual player. I know it sucks if you are really good and into tetris compared to other versions- but if you dont know better it plays well enough. It didnt need to tho- you could just turn the game on and leave the music running :)

[@terrapin-yob]

@I Live In A Van Down By The River I like your name lol

[@BottomOfTheDumpsterFire]

Don't forget Tetris CD-i, honestly, that entire soundtrack sounds like a 90s shopping mall in the best way.

[@cathanof]

dont forget grand master, tetrisphere and new tetris osts...

[@그냥사람-e9f]

"It's just a silly little stacking puzzle game for a cheap 8 bit home computer, a 30 second loop should do." Willy Beben composing a 25 minutes long banger track that takes up 1/5th of the system's available memory for no reason:

[@mattiasjohansson7718]

But I think it was the right game to do it on . Think if he had composed one of the last ninja games instead . the graphics would probably have suffered . Btw Even though I wasn’t born when c64 was released. I still think it was a expensive system. Even if it was a very affordable computer compared to other systems back then.

[@jedanarcher7806]

Wow, this piece actually has a classical sonata form structure, of exposition, a broad and sophisticated development section (nice variations of the themes), and a recapitulation (including a coda). Composer must be classically trained - most impressive.

[@Mooseski117]

It's always the unknown composers that make the best music

[@estefencosta1835]

Wally Beben. I don't know his background but he did quite a bit of work on C64 games. Aside from the structure, what I think makes this impressive is that it still slaps in 2022, despite being made on 3 channels of 16 bit audio and a fourth channel that basically was a glitch and could only use sampled percussive or voice sounds. The SID chip was way ahead of it's time and allowed for beauties like this to be made.

[@DerpDerp3001]

I think it's rather a modified Scherzo and Trio due to the form being [ABA'][CDC'D'CED''C''][BA']. While in a sonata form, the development takes the existing themes and does new things with them. Here is a rundown of each of the sections. Scherzo 0:00 to 9:32 G Minor 4/4 Time Signature 0:00 Intro of Theme A 0:35 Theme A 2:58 Intro of Theme B 3:34 Theme B 6:33 Variation of Theme A 8:21 Outro Melody 8:56 Outro Trio 9:32 to 19:26 G Dorian 10/8 Time Signature 9:32 Introduction to the Trio 10:11 Theme C 11:27 Theme D 12:44 Counterpuntal variation of Theme C 14:00 Variation of Theme D 15:17 Repeat of Theme C 16:34 Theme E 17:12 Shortened variation of Theme D 17:50 Second Variation of Theme C 19:07 Outro Scherzo 19:26 to 25:51 G Minor 4/4 Time Signature 19:26 Intro 19:44 Theme B 22:43 Variation of Theme A 24:30 Outro

[@Flo_Resolution]

@@estefencosta1835 so that 4th channel exploit functions like the DPCM channel on the 2a03

[@ltva8781]

​@@Flo_Resolution Not really. DPCM on NES can be used in direct PCM mode, it just eats ALL the CPU. In DPCM mode it runs on its own (it has dedicated DMA). C64 samples "4th channel", using the master volume bug, requires constant and precisely timed CPU action, so more akin to direct PCM. It is worth noting btw that direct PCM was in docs while the SID glitch was not in official docs

[@earthsteward70]

Might as well get this off of my chest, Ive listened to this track all the way through many times, and the 26 minute track seems to have this cinematic Structure to it. most if not all movies follow this structure, prologue, rising action, climax, epilogue. And this track starts off slow and rather simple, sad, and dark... and slowly gets faster with an ever increasingly happier tone, untill we reach the mid way point at about 12 minutes into the track where the track is at its fastest and most uplifting. then, it slowly and subtly transitions back down into its slower and sadder tones, but because the process is going in reverse this time, the tracks last parts feel satisfying and more sweet. this feels like the soundtrack to an art film or a fantasy film, very magical! AND THEN IT HITS ME THAT THIS MUCH EFFORT WAS PUT INTO A FUCKING TETRIS OST.

[@nanocyde_artist]

Three-movement form. Almost like a three-act play. Top-notch storytelling.

[@bradleyhiggs3824]

I love Hubbard, Tel and Galway etc, but Beben will always be my fav simply because of this.

[@DerpDerp3001]

It was probably so long so that players can get some progress out of it.

[@12...]

Well, Tetris is the greatest game ever made

[@Nikku4211]

Well, this is for a C64 version. You know how long those load times can get on those ancient computers, that's often why Commodore 64 songs are big, so you can have something to listen to as the game loads.

[@kekcsi]

Oscilloscope view helps a lot understanding how those SID effects work. You can read the timing of pulse wave duty cycle changes, ADSR envelopes and hear how they sound. Good stuff.

[@Thunk00]

Epic track. Really captures the tension, dynamism, and grinding relentlessly-onward nature of Tetris.

[@peedyholden]

I remember sitting next to the guy who created it. He asked me and a friend if we liked it!!! It got a big thumbs up!!! We didn't realise at the time how lucky we were to have the chance to meet him.

[@tornt7933]

So long between comments, i guess, but i am - in the year 2024 - extremely happy you did this. If you ever come by Trondheim i will buy you a beer.

[@ririlot]

Incredible piece of music. It always astounds me how they managed to get the 3-sound-channel c64 to play a 4th channel as a sample track by bit-banging the volume register to cause a click many times per second.

[@crimson-foxtwitch2581]

the c64 has a bunch of methods for sample playback, each with their own pros and cons. the volume register method is prone to screwing with timings and master volume control

[@_devik]

sorry, can you point out the 4th channel in this one? timestamp?

[@ririlot]

It first comes in at 2:59@@_devik

[@_devik]

@@ririlot right

[@BenInSeattle]

I was wondering why the oscilloscope had four traces for the three voice SID!

[@nikamota]

Playing Tetris on the Commodore 64,wow,whole family around the TV with this incredible music coming out of the speaker,we were all transifixed! Incredible soundtrack and unique.

[@_devik]

yes, this music would play in my head hours after I stopped playing the game.

[@askolei]

I love how the music blooms over time. Truly a masterpiece.

[@GUCFan]

A great track that i discovered in the weirdest way possible. Through CFG USB Loader on the Wii.

[@maggiethegamer1271]

emmanu888 Oh yes, so did I, but I'm scared by the beginning, but love the rock part, so I have nothing else to do than replace it with something else. Can you help me with choosing the song?

[@zeyfuller]

@@LarsTragel-zh7ei an ISO loader for wii. lets you play backups.

[@TheLemminkainen]

@@LarsTragel-zh7ei Yes its was on Nintendo HD USB loader :)

[@bl3nk_]

omg the pirate reawakens in me

[@thecatastrophe132]

Arrrrgh!! A fellow booty hunter, ya? I haf mutual respect for ye! Arrrrgh!! Loved playing Brawl on that thing. I still have it, for goodness sake! Now look where we are now! At Ultimate. How times had changed. -I never figured out how to fix the covers from being question marks, but now that I know I’m bouta head out-

[@obobobobob5205]

This is surely the greatest videogame soundtrack of all time - and one of the greatest electronic music compositions of all time too

[@k-leb4671]

This is some strangely epic music for Tetris of all things.

[@HyRax_Aus]

It seems Tetris games have this effect on game music. I mean look at the soundtrack for Tetris Effect on PlayStation...!

[@Sauvenil]

@@HyRax_AusTetrisphere for N64 also has an intense soundtrack.

[@HyRax_Aus]

@@Sauvenil Will check it out - ta!

[@adamcharlesdavies]

I remember the game got 98% for music in Zzapp 64. By the time I could afford it (I was 13) I had read the review. I loaded it up and listened to the whole 26 minute track twice before I played it for the first time. Outstanding for it's time, and outstanding even by today's standards.

[@Giveme100ksubs]

dam only 1 day ago and this one is 5 years old comment

[@LarsTragel-zh7ei]

Today's standard are way lower.

[@Sauvenil]

@@LarsTragel-zh7eiBack then they had to work with a lot less, and they did a lot more with a lot less. Now with full orchestral spectrum in their hands, the music just doesn't have the edge anymore that it used to - there's a lot of sharpness to chip sound that just doesn't carry through to analog instruments.

[@DanafoxyVixen]

I used to play this back in the day on my C64 all the time, occasionally I even played the game!

[@andrewkovnat]

o.o Fox...

[@teh_supar_hackr]

what it's just a fox...-_-

[@andrewkovnat]

teh_supar_hackr 0010101 Exactly! Foxes are awesome.

[@teh_supar_hackr]

Andrew Kovnat foxes, hell yah!!

[@andrewkovnat]

teh_supar_hackr 0010101 Yeah! This guy gets it!

[@JarekArmada]

@Wally Beben I am so grateful to you for the masterpiece you created, which has developed my sensitivity as a child and the person I became in my adult years... Years ago, back then in Poland where I lived, we didn't even have a tape recorder to listen to music, while a neighbor living one floor below in my block had a Commodore 64 and often played this game. As a child, I used to sit in my room next to the radiator (the blocks had central heating), because there was the best place to hear the sounds of music coming from another apartment. This is how I used to listen to a song that I considered, consider and will always consider as a masterpiece. Thank you, sir.

[@rudeboyspodcast]

Boss: "C'mon, Wally. All ya gotta do is make a 30 second loop and you can call it a day." Wally: "No, I don't think I will."

[@gereniccc4487]

also btw this is one of the longest 8 bit songs in the 1980s

[@SendyTheEndless]

He's like nah I'm gonna make a prog rock album.

[@FrankEBailey]

​@@gereniccc4487Matt Gray's theme for Driller on C64 is also really long and really good too 😅

[@gereniccc4487]

@@FrankEBailey ok

[@alanbenson1505]

I remember recording this to a cassette in the late 80's (along with some Galway & Hubbard). I used to play it while I was coding 6502 on the C64. It reminds me of debugging code more than Tetris!!

[@attilathepapp]

I did the same. I had Amiga music recorded by my friend (I couldn't afford it) and C64 music recorded by me and I listened those for hours, for reading, studying, painting, coding, writing RPG modules... This Tetris and the Soul Crystal soundtrack were my favorites.

[@BenInSeattle]

I can see how it'd be great for getting into the zone. Coding 6502 assembly must have made it perfect.

[@vrod2144]

This is such a masterpiece. Emotional SID music! I was spending hours listening and staring on that great Tetris artwork ... Ah... memories...

[@SpongeMagic]

Well, when I think of think of falling blocks that form rows at the bottom, this is NOT what I imagine would be the soundtrack! But it's an absolutely fantastic song. It really shows what the SID chip was capable of.

[@thenintendogenesis6084]

Nope, it can do more than this.

[@DerpDerp3001]

Yes or no, should this be the official Tetris theme?

[@saltedmutton7269]

@@DerpDerp3001 while this is an incredible piece of music, the original tetris theme fits the game better. there's quite a long intro, which wouldn't suite the arcadey gameplay. i'm glad this exists (although that bass is too loud for me) but i don't think it would work well as the main theme.

[@frankmeyer9984]

This must be amongst the *greatest* 8 bit tunes EVER... Hats off... Oh man, when the synths kick in for the first time... And then it simply gets better and better and better... ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@kirstyshadowdancer5095]

Oh Nostalgia - I remember booting this up and leaving it play on the credits just cause the music was soooooo daaaamn AMAZING !!!!

[@vrod2144]

Same here!

[@digmsymii321]

Meditative...

[@fleetingwaveresponse3221]

One of the greatest electronica tracks and my all time favourites! Thanks for posting.

[@ElTagno]

I hadn't listened to or even thought about this piece of music in over a decade, but for some reason the opening drum beat erupted into my thoughts yesterday and I knew I had to find it again. It's pure brilliance. I don't know how I let so much time pass between listens, but I won't make the same mistake again.

[@estefencosta1835]

I bumped into this again a few years ago after remembering it randomly from my childhood. The C64 was already old news when I was young but we had one and I used it a lot as a little kid and for some reason I remembered this track. It was so good it got lodged in a 4 year olds mind and dredged up 30 years later lol.

[@Edigrieg]

This song is the reason I fought myself through the game, till I got an awesome routine. When later my nephews came along with their Game Boys, I battled them to the ground :D hella good, from that day I was their cool uncle....

[@DerpDerp3001]

If this was the official tetris theme?

[@daibonehead]

So it is Sunday afternoon. The wige and kids are out and I'm re-sealing the shower. And this music is playing and it has elevated me beyond thinking about the mundane tasks that come with middle age. This must be one of the greatest 64 tracks ever.

[@daibonehead]

Wife. Not wige! :-)

[@crackerwax]

daibonehead It reminds me so much of being in my parents house, in winter, huddled in the corner of the living room, Commodore 64 setup on the dining table, playing Tetris and listening to this whilst the wind whistled outside. It will always take me back to that time.

[@Saamac1]

å

[@sylvercritter]

Ohhhhhh this brings back memories, not for the reason you think no not at all. This was the music used on our family's hacked Wii to select games to load from the HDD. I found it. I found it in the wild. Oh my god. Thank you for uploading this is so awesome.

[@kacperw587]

Don't know why, but the first few minutes remind me of a lonely heart beating in space slowly as the universe takes it's shape.

[@ShwappaJ]

Imagine being capable of witnessing the Big Bang without dying or going blind

[@noxythedhole9626]

I played this on my grandpa's C64 when I was a kid. A lot. Mostly just for this music. This is such a great way to visualize the sounds! Especially as I'm learning my way around a Korg Prologue for my first synth. It's neat seeing the square wave swell and connecting that to the sound Really awesome stuff!

[@zagoat9384]

My beloved Configurable Usb Loader

[@kikofernandez8165]

c-64 had the best tetris music!!!!!!!

[@DerpDerp3001]

Yes or No, should this be the official Tetris theme?

[@segaking5846]

Yes

[@cauldronofstardust]

C64 had the best EVERYTHING music 😄. Not much of a mystery why: Makes sense that the best video game music would come from superior video game music composers, & all the true greats-for whatever reason-cozied up to the C64 above all other machines, & worked their audible wizardry on the SID chip

[@lordevyl8317]

@@DerpDerp3001 The "official" tetris theme was released AFTER this. SMH. This version came out before the NES and Gameboy versions which were the first to include that music

[@DerpDerp3001]

@@lordevyl8317 like I mean should that be replaced with the C64 version to be the official song.

[@lochinvar00465]

SID was great, it was one thing that set the C64 apart from the rest. There was even a hack to install a second SID for stereo and a huge library of music just for that with the SIDplayer.

[@NULUSIOS]

Brilliant work by mr. Bebeb. He may not be as active as the 2-3-4 SID/MOD legends, but definitely fantastic work (not just for Tetris).

[@hfribjkhjkhkhgfklfjhgh7025]

9:33 the seamless transition to 5/4

[@jeanicehoffing8935]

I wouldn't have caught without this comment 👍

[@DerpDerp3001]

No it is in 10/8.

[@BenInSeattle]

@@DerpDerp3001 For those of us more used to counting CPU cycles than beats, can you explain for this song how to hear the difference?

[@DerpDerp3001]

@@BenInSeattle Basically when something uses 8ths, it means that the music is in compound meter where each beat is not divided into two. In 6/8, the measure is divided into 2 beats that is divided into 3 smaller beats, so the rhythm is 123-123. For the B section of this song, the rhythm is like this: 123-123-12-12, because the subdivisions are not divided into two, dividing it into 5 would not be suitable.

[@teenspirit1]

I just learned everything about music.

[@nialltracey2599]

Each session of the couch-to-5k training programme is between 20 and 35 minutes. Hearing this track reminds me that I should get back on it. Several great days stomping through my local woods to the sound of Tetris...

[@kevinm5940]

I started seeing some sort of landscape in these visuals.

[@3622Dave]

I just adore this music, especially from about 12 minutes onwards!

[@adamcharlesdavies]

+David Craddock It's the first few minutes that just melt me, but a great track all the way through

[@DogsRNice]

I love the part that goes from 0:00 to 25:51

[@HuntersMoon78]

I absolutely love this music....all 26 minutes of it

[@Frozen_Ketchup]

I’ve never played this version of Tetris and I don’t really have any plans on doing so. I just heard this coming from the CFG USB Loader for Wii as the background music and really enjoyed it. Great stuff

[@JN-tj1ox]

Tetris on the C64 😊 I used this music to get asleep when I was younger

[@Corsa15DT]

the most powerful sid tune i'v heard on my c64. it just stays in your head. it doesn't really suit a tetris game, when you think about it..

[@inphanta]

I first heard this tune in my friend’s C64C and the guitar part was missing (owing to the “fix”). It wasn’t until I played the game on my bread bin at home that I realised it was there at all!

[@THEmuteKi]

god, can't believe there's episode-length porn on youtube

[@triPixel]

i too, nutted to the tetris music

[@supremechaosbeing2696]

that bottom row make a man go 😫

[@aeschynanthus_sp]

@@supremechaosbeing2696, I'm partial to the second row from the top!

[@ShwappaJ]

@@aeschynanthus_sp I like all 4 rows equally, they are good by themselves but altogether it's so 😜

[@gereniccc4487]

Okjnknjmkjmij st st ft

[@smashrulezzz6446]

Plenty games on C64 were not so good as how much time I spent in them. Very often It was the incredible music what was holding me in them. And it is that music from them which keeps me remembering these games and those days. Many composers of these times are (or were) true legends. And many of the song were born in their difficult times. I love these ages. In these the world was doing a big step forward to the future. Unfortunately now it is worse. Or mabye am I too old now? :-D

[@rhodexa]

What a powerful IC the SID Chip was, the YM3812 might have more voices, but only the SID can transmit such feelings

[@ssg-eggunner]

Bro the SID manages to have better drums than FM does

[@rhodexa]

@@ssg-eggunner The SID have way better flexibility, I think that's what makes it so good for pretty much anything... but I've seen (rather listen) impressive drums from the YMF262 or the YM2612 (even tho it cheats cause it has an ADC).... but you can "hack" the SID to get PCM so... I think it is fair (?

[@ssg-eggunner]

@@rhodexa oh yeah Tim Follin made some Nice drums for Time Trax

[@fernakaritakahashi7752]

Long life to the PC Buzzer!

[@FritzMonorail]

Wow! Are you sure this is Tetris we're talking about here. From the sound of this music i'd think I was embarking on an epic quest. I had no idea that the C64 had this kind of sound.

[@elevown]

Of all the 'consoles' from that era, the c64's sid chip as by far the best- the c64 had many utterly amazing peices of music.

[@DiSCERiTY]

@@elevown Incredibly ahead of its time... too ahead of its time. Commodore seemed to have a problem with that back then LOL

[@Maverynthia]

I can vouch that yes this is from a simple Tetris game. Played it all the time as a kid.

[@ssg-eggunner]

C64 SID is literally a MiniMoog

[@ShwappaJ]

You've never heard Tim Follin's work I assume

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Wally Beben made the most haunting C64 SID tunes. Seriously. :O Such epic and haunting scores…

[@shaunbebbington6411]

Parallax C64 music is equally as haunting for sure in my opinion.

[@w3ird0z]

My fav game track ever. Thank you for this - looks amazing.

[@seriousbusiness4658]

my guy absolutely did not have to go this hard for *tettris* of all things

[@teh_supar_hackr]

Listened to the whole thing

[@thegblob]

If I drink enough wine, this becomes like one of those magic eye things

[@ColinJonesPonder]

26 minutes in length, 13665 bytes in size. Eat your heart out Bill Gates ;)

[@thealternativej7994]

I like real-time rendered music also.

[@epatto]

What does Bill Gates have to do with this?

[@HuntersMoon78]

@@epatto I think it maybe a reference to Bill Gates saying PC would never need more than 640K memory......How wrong he was!

[@epatto]

@@HuntersMoon78 As far as I know, he never said that. It's an urban legend.

[@polluks2]

20% of C64's memory

[@Sauvenil]

OMFG I NEVER THOUGHT I'D HEAR THIS AGAIN.

[@Sauvenil]

Also, OMFG, this is Sovietwave, from the actual Sovietwave era.

[@ColinZeal01]

THE Tetris track if you ask me.

[@xkai7546]

ColinZeal no. It would fit a more atmospheric game. If you notice the visuals of tetris on C64 it was supposed to accommodate the graphics otherwise the product would be complete shit. If the visuals were different the music would be different. But I wonder if you can use this in a modern retro-esque game.

[@oldrandomcomputing6247]

This in my opinion fits minecraft nicely.

[@xkai7546]

Random Minecrafter *facepalm* lol I think it fits 3d porn games perfectly.

[@cooliofoolio]

See, if they added this instead of those other tracks to Minecraft, it wouldn't have died, and crashed, and burned...

[@cooliofoolio]

@@daniela_dundel That's not very nice :(

[@justhinfordeath2841]

I loved play this game when I was a kid. I didn't understand code but I learned to load Tetris in the Commodore of my dad. This melody haunted my dreams...

[@duncanpadgett]

This is so beautiful

Wow, this is epic, never knew it was this long...and 4 channels, nice hack! :)

[@lpsp442]

Absolutely outstanding!

[@antihumor2231]

2:59 That's when the fourth voice comes into play.

[@elevown]

How does it have 4? C64 only has 3 right? I know they learned how to fake 5 and more eventually by interweaving them and stuff but on osilascopes it still shows just 3 voices doesnt it?

[@antihumor2231]

elevown from what I know, it was a glitch lol. ask people to explain it

[@scottbreon9448]

@@elevown Glitch in one of the variants of the sid chip which gave it a pseudo "fourth" voice

[@WhatKateDoes]

@@elevown There are multiple implementations of this, but in this particular case, fast manipulation of the volume control register on the C64 created "pops" - that when played fast enough, allowed for PCM (sample) playback, which could be used in conjunction with the 3 actual analogue channels. Taken to it's most extreme, it's incredible - search for "LMAN hifi sky"

[@schwebebuhne5979]

SID Music's Opus Magnum. Has there ever been an orchestrated version of it?

[@benja14xd]

Schwebe Bühne y es and not . i uploaded a cover of the song in my yt channel. but it was made with Fl studio.

[@obobobobob5205]

@@LarsTragel-zh7ei ahh it's a shame that video isn't available anymore

[@digmsymii321]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4Wbn5x-fpKUfZI Hi! This video?

[@elijahvincent985]

Think about Wally that took all the time programming this note by note. This was clearly not done in a single day, given the fact it had samples and looped for 21 of the 26 minutes. Kudos to this talent from the era!

[@DerpDerp3001]

It probably took him about a week. Composing is actually pretty fast.

[@bigstones84]

@@DerpDerp3001 confirmed, he said so himself in another comment

[@Xantaxia]

Holy crap I never realized this had samples in it. I feel a bit daft now lol

[@derpedsixtyfour33]

@surfitlive that was both painful to read but also awesome at the same time. Daft Punk is one of my favourite bands

[@vrod2144]

Samples?

[@ssg-eggunner]

This doesn't use samples lol It's the Resonance filter

[@Roflcopter4b]

@@ssg-eggunner Yes it does. The "fourth channel" is made by manipulating the master volume (16 levels) to create crude digital audio via pre-recorded samples. The SID chip had a somewhat unstable DC offset in the output. Increasing the master volume increased the offset, decreasing the volume decreased the offset. If swiftly manipulated you get 4-bit digital audio.

[@ssg-eggunner]

@@Roflcopter4b 🤯

[@tivulandia]

masterpiece

[@frankmeyer9984]

What a timeless MASTERPIECE... ❤❤❤

[@ОльгаАлексеева-г3э]

Музыка убаюкивает и поднимает настроение. Спасибо.

[@drag7703]

How does a Tetris port game have such a amazing song?!

[@attilathepapp]

It was probably a solo music project and the distributor bought it for the game.

[@wallybeben5783]

@@attilathepapp Actually, no, it was music specifically written for the game port on the C64. Took me just over a week, using an amazing player mostly (re)written by a very very good friend of mine. I knew it had to be 'different' - I'd seen Steve's (SIT) graphics for it (what an amazing inspiration!)! :D

[@cycrothelargeplanet]

*an amazing song

[@aresaurelian]

It was a gift.

[@JarekArmada]

@@wallybeben5783 I am so grateful to you for the masterpiece you created, which has developed my sensitivity as a child and the person I became in my adult years. Back then in Poland where I lived, we didn't even have a tape recorder to listen to music, while a neighbor living one floor below in my block had a Commodore 64 and often played this game. As a child, I used to sit in my room next to the radiator (the blocks had central heating), because there was the best place to hear the sounds of music coming from another apartment. This is how I used to listen to a song that I considered, consider and will always consider as a masterpiece. Thank you, sir.

[@dalmohernandes3178]

New account, new sub, new like. This is golden!

[@Peachtotheinfinity]

The 4th channel is a sample channel.

[@packardjosy3881]

thanks I was wondering

[@GmanMilli]

Same here, SID chip only had 3 voices.

[@forceinfinity]

You can also multiplex channels on the SID chip to get the illusion of a 4th or 5th voice. Rob Hubbard had that down to an art form

[@GmanMilli]

forceinfinity by quickly going back and forth between different modes?

[@forceinfinity]

Yes. Having said that, Peachtotheinfinity was probably referring to a volume hack that some people figured out with the SID chip. I remember this having fussed with the SID chip myself. But basically when you flip the volume address (54296...why I remember this, I don't know) from its max value (15) to zero, or vice versa, you create a click. Do those clicks fast enough, you can get a 4 bit sample sound

[@gfxsham]

Oh boy, how I loved it when the game loaded and the sound started.

[@ozgurkarter4368]

I played Tetris just for this song.

[@ozgurkarter4368]

@@LarsTragel-zh7ei wish they could include this in the new tetris effect game :)

[@scottbreon9448]

Same reason why I played Driller to be honest. Because let's face it, the Freescape games on the C64 played slower than cold molasses

[@GouganeBarra-u4t]

Hats off... between three and a half minutes and six and a half minutes we have near musical perfection. I love the single notes melody, which returns after nineteen and three quarter minutes. It's not all great, but I keep returning to listen to it nevertheless. A 25 minute epic is way too much for a simple game like Tetris. But I'm glad we have it.

[@kevinbaker4241]

This is #2 of my top three favorite C64 music soundtracks, along with Commando (#1) and Zig-Zag (#3).

[@ashglory6132]

I like how it makes a city

[@jlewwis1995]

How the hell does changing the master volume so fast have almost no effect on the normal 3 channels :π

[@jlewwis1995]

Oh wait, the sample is probably played back first then the volume is switched back to normal for the waveform playback most likely...

[@DerpDerp3001]

@@jlewwis1995, no it's just normal volume change. Amplitude modulation barely affects the sound.

[@mikecormack164]

This is bloody fantastic. Well done.

[@Peepimus]

This track’s so long that it can play over an average full length of TV episodes & still not loop.!.!

[@JERPSZgRvN]

If you got a Wii, an SD card, an external hard drive (or USB), and some Wii games on it including CFG (Configurable USB Loader) and hear this you know you're about to have fun.

[@00Skyfox]

Can you explain the 4th track 4-bit sample playback? I always thought the 4th “voice” on the SID was the audio input line (which can have filters applied to it), or the interference generated by modulating the volume control (if I’m remembering how that works right).

[@DogsRNice]

If I recall correctly every time the master volume register is changed the chip makes a tiny popping sound And someone realized you can change the master volume fast enough to make samples

[@gianis666]

it looks like all waveforms are somehow "centred" , why is that? are you doing this on purpose or is it some kind of artefact?

[@andrewkovnat]

It's called a Trigger, in oscilloscope lingo. It's so you can clearly see what each wave looks like. It's basically a sync.

[@gianis666]

Andrew Kovnat I see.Thanks. And I guess each voice has its own trigger, right?

[@andrewkovnat]

Indeed.

[@laurencewalls9493]

This is cool, but I thought the C64 SID chip was only capable of 3 channels simultaneously. How is the 4th included/displayed?

[@afrosheenix]

Laurence Walls the fourth channel is a weird thing with the SID that is global volume control basically, but it can be manipulated quickly to play back digi samples. Undocumented feature.

[@yukko_parra]

I'm coming here from a wii homebrew app dayum, didn't expect c64 in my homebrew app.

[@spacepigs]

I wish I could thumb this up more but at least I can listen to it more!

[@DaVince21]

This reminds me of the Tetris DX intro music on Game Boy, in how it's totally awesome yet quite unexpected for a Tetris game.

[@jacksonshelton8055]

imagine if this replaced the interstellar soundtrack

[@invalid_user_handle]

The Tetris game itself is very simple, with very little in terms of mechanics: No alternative gamemodes, only single-player, no extra features like a hold slot, or even a 'next piece' indicator. It's the most fundamental version of Tetris you could possibly imagine, just a score and number of lines cleared measure. All of those missing things are made up for the fact that you have this masterpiece to listen to the whole time.

[@making_some_stuff3096]

Downright inspiring.

[@muffincat77]

Aaaaah the good old days :)

[@notniko6914]

Not my style of music but it felt so satisfying to watch

[@Automatik234]

This is one of the reasons, why I find the C64 way more interesting than something like the NES....

[@HuntersMoon78]

Me too - I love 8 bit computers more than 8 bit consoles

[@Sh-hg8kf]

carruthers100 This game features riffs only because there is nothing else in the game. What do you have? A bunch of blocks, the colors of which can be altered, maximum size in the crg rom would be around around 64 kb, while most nes games like mega man and Castlevania featured way too many sprites, moves, backgrounds, and enemies all of which used up space. And cone one, you contradict yourself. You claimed that Tim showed Nintendo how to use their hardware, except the same is true for the c64. Jeroen Tel, Tim and a few others were the only ones who made good use of the hardware. And about the nes sounding weak, have you every listened to the Kirby ost, Super C ost, Mega man 6 ost, Journey to Silius or any other such gems?

[@Sh-hg8kf]

carruthers100 Besides, the traingle itself can be used as a lead instrument, while the same isn't true for sawtooth. The ability to add more chips made fm synthesis possible on the nes( Lagrange point), and 10 channel sound with the help of the vrc6, evident in Akumajou Densetsu ( Castlevania 3 in Japan). Note that the above only work in the Famicom. Ninja Gaiden and tmnt 2 sound super gritty too

[@Sh-hg8kf]

carruthers100 Also about the looping. There were multiple songs for most of the nes games, while tetris only had 2 songs in a whole. Of course it would be long

[@Sh-hg8kf]

carruthers100 Talk to me about the nes sounding weak after you've listened tmnt 2 music

[@scottbreon9448]

Love this music. Very JMJ/Vangelis-like

[@mattypallaristhedoomking5691]

This was about my favourite SID piece. I know nothing of the audio artist. But it easily compares if not betters Hubbard, Daglish, Galway. It was a pity the control system was improved by Nintendo. This version was the first, and the joystick drop wasn't perfect. This is the best initial version. I'm just glad we even saw it. Mirrorsoft, Nintendo Tengen all had rights. What a publishing mess. It might be the "Tetris Effect" but the pieces on this version are predictable. Do your pieces placed change the random maths of the blocks?

[@Nomaios]

Cool. The c64 song was one oft my alltime classic Soundtrack! The Amiga & Gameboy Song so ... Boeing!!

[@walterprado6075]

Please turn the vel in 2x in 3:35

[@ilker795]

Priceless

[@matthewakian2]

This has to be playing at my cremation.

[@brutusmuerto]

Still Awesome

[@chrislive1586]

2:00 min in: I"m not sure i can listen to 26 min of this... 2:55 in: WHAT A FUKING DROP! 8:51 in: Drop 25:21 outro Droplet

[@FrankEBailey]

That's how he gets you. Before you know it, 26 minutes have gone by and you're in an altered state of consciousness.

[@chrislive1586]

@@FrankEBailey lol totally! Edit: in the last 30 days, KZbin has recommended me this at least x3 more times, lol. It's just as good the second and third time-around.

[@lordevyl8317]

Beben doesn't get the credit he deserves for the music he did on the commie. Not only did he do this awesome track, he also did the awesome music for Dark Side (which was the sequel to Driller), as well as the music for Total Eclipse amongst others.

[@FrankEBailey]

Matt Gray's theme for Driller is also an absolute banger

[@joshlewis5065]

this is the weirdest music on my playlist, but its so freakin cool

[@andrewkovnat]

I can easily find weirder.SHXCXCHCXSH - LTTLWLF Actually one of my favorite artists.

[@TheBeeshSpweesh]

Wow, this is about to hit 100K views!