Chord experiment

[+atari2600land]

While trying to make some music, it dawned on me that if sprites can be flickered to make more be shown on screen, perhaps what if I did the same thing to the audio? This is what I got: The C note and the G note. I just thought it was interesting to share.

 

main
 a=a+1
 if a{0} then AUDF0=29 else AUDF0=19
 AUDC0=4 : AUDV0=4
 drawscreen
 goto main

[+Random Terrain]

I don't know what it's officially called, but I called it weaving when I was making sound effects for Seaweed Assault. Weave different notes or completely different tones (AUDCx) every other frame to get a fuller, more complicated sound effect. The music or sound effect might sound similar to ones in other games, but it won't sound lazy/simplistic/tinny/rough/basic/boring, like it was plopped directly out of the can without any seasoning added or special cooking techniques applied to make it more pleasing.

[carlsson]

In chipmusic terms, that is known as a two note arpeggio. In classic music, arpeggio would be a slightly different type of playing style but the term was appropriated by SID, POKEY and AY musicians alike.

 

Edit: Oh yes, chipmusic arpeggios are said to be an European thing, and that video game musicians in America and Japan never or very rarely used that effect while it was very popular in Europe.

Edited October 1, 2018 by carlsson

[RevEng]

Related reading: TIA Arpeggio Tips

[+Karl G]

Just for fun, I made a variant if your demo that does two tone changes per frame - one right after drawscreen (beginning of overscan), and one during vblank. It's not perfect because the spacing between tone spacing is uneven, but it gives something else to play with.

 

 AUDC0=4 : AUDV0=4


main
 drawscreen
 AUDF0=29
 goto main




  vblank
  AUDF0=19
  return

I wish I had a better understanding of music. My 13 year old has said he would "try" to teach me to play piano, though.