Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This video is a beginner's guide for making 8-bit chiptune music with FamiTracker. In it, I outline the basic concepts needed to get started as quickly as possible. It's mostly intended for people who are curious about making chiptune, but have never used FamiTracker. My hope is that this video will help shorten the learning curve, save you time, and get you on your way to making your own 8-bit compositions. This is the first video in a FamiTracker mini-series, and is intended to serve as a primer for future videos. Later episodes will go into greater depth about my favorite FamiTracker techniques.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:29 What is this video?
01:10 Part 1: The Interface
01:57 Song Settings Tab
02:37 Rows
05:48 Frames
07:07 Part 2: The Instrument Panel
09:05 The Volume Effect
12:10 The Arpeggio Effect
13:13 The Pitch & Hi-Pitch Effects
13:29 The Duty Noise Effect
16:10 Part 3: Data Entry
16:30 2A03 Channels
17:29 Anatomy of a Row
19:30 Using the Computer Keyboard
20:47 Connecting a MIDI Controller
21:50 Noise Channel Drums
22:30 Tracking the SMB Theme
24:49 The Tempo Effect
25:19 Changing Instruments
26:05 Intermission
26:19 The SMB Theme
28:25 The Volume Column
28:57 The F7 Key
29:38 The D and C Effects
30:21 Closing Thoughts
*Free FamiTracker Effects & Hot Keys List, and project files:*
innermotionmusic.gumroad.com/l/FTCrashCourse
*Recommended Resources:*
youtube.com/@ben_burnes?si=u4biVRzn_MCn7a_-
youtube.com/@MatthewIvic?si=Y7DVlr1M8ZGmuOR8
*Music used in this video:*
youtu.be/3wAN4lgXV8M?si=A6J-ydT7jttrwee5
youtu.be/D8pwddU2dQE?si=RqpQDeB65LtdR_Hj
*Intro and outro news video source:* youtu.be/b_ft_6nMnqo?si=0e_1E8kReN61NJg1
๐ *Socials*
โ๏ธ *BlueSky* https://bsky.app/profile/innermotionmusic.bsky.social
๐ท *Instagram* instagram.com/innermotionmusic
๐ท *tiktok* tiktok.com/@innermotionmusic?lang=en
๐ฆ *Twitter* twitter.com/InrMotionMusic
๐ชข *Threads* threads.net/@innermotionmusic
โ *Ko-Fi* ko-fi.com/innermotionmusic
๐ *Streaming*
๐ต *Spotify* open.spotify.com/artist/4deXKpk5X04fXVQh6LDYeS
๐ต *Apple Music* music.apple.com/us/artist/inner-motion-music/1529898132
๐ต *Band Camp* innermotionmusic.bandcamp.com
#famitracker #8bit #chiptune #nes
This video is a beginner's guide for making 8-bit chiptune music with FamiTracker. In it, I outline the basic concepts needed to get started as quickly as possible. It's mostly intended for people who are curious about making chiptune, but have never used FamiTracker. My hope is that this video will help shorten the learning curve, save you time, and get you on your way to making your own 8-bit compositions. This is the first video in a FamiTracker mini-series, and is intended to serve as a primer for future videos. Later episodes will go into greater depth about my favorite FamiTracker techniques.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:29 What is this video?
01:10 Part 1: The Interface
01:57 Song Settings Tab
02:37 Rows
05:48 Frames
07:07 Part 2: The Instrument Panel
09:05 The Volume Effect
12:10 The Arpeggio Effect
13:13 The Pitch & Hi-Pitch Effects
13:29 The Duty Noise Effect
16:10 Part 3: Data Entry
16:30 2A03 Channels
17:29 Anatomy of a Row
19:30 Using the Computer Keyboard
20:47 Connecting a MIDI Controller
21:50 Noise Channel Drums
22:30 Tracking the SMB Theme
24:49 The Tempo Effect
25:19 Changing Instruments
26:05 Intermission
26:19 The SMB Theme
28:25 The Volume Column
28:57 The F7 Key
29:38 The D and C Effects
30:21 Closing Thoughts
*Free FamiTracker Effects & Hot Keys List, and project files:*
innermotionmusic.gumroad.com/l/FTCrashCourse
*Recommended Resources:*
youtube.com/@ben_burnes?si=u4biVRzn_MCn7a_-
youtube.com/@MatthewIvic?si=Y7DVlr1M8ZGmuOR8
*Music used in this video:*
youtu.be/3wAN4lgXV8M?si=A6J-ydT7jttrwee5
youtu.be/D8pwddU2dQE?si=RqpQDeB65LtdR_Hj
*Intro and outro news video source:* youtu.be/b_ft_6nMnqo?si=0e_1E8kReN61NJg1
๐ *Socials*
โ๏ธ *BlueSky* https://bsky.app/profile/innermotionmusic.bsky.social
๐ท *Instagram* instagram.com/innermotionmusic
๐ท *tiktok* tiktok.com/@innermotionmusic?lang=en
๐ฆ *Twitter* twitter.com/InrMotionMusic
๐ชข *Threads* threads.net/@innermotionmusic
โ *Ko-Fi* ko-fi.com/innermotionmusic
๐ *Streaming*
๐ต *Spotify* open.spotify.com/artist/4deXKpk5X04fXVQh6LDYeS
๐ต *Apple Music* music.apple.com/us/artist/inner-motion-music/1529898132
๐ต *Band Camp* innermotionmusic.bandcamp.com
#famitracker #8bit #chiptune #nes
![Starlight Zone [70s Disco Cover]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xf9MgU7pQTE/mqdefault.jpg "Starlight Zone [70s Disco Cover]
This is a video game music cover of Starlight Zone from Sonic The Hedgehog for Sega Genesis. The arrangement features flute and vocoder, and explores what it would have been like if a group of musicians showed up to a studio in the 1970s to record the track.
Lyrical Inspiration by Rainbow Road: https://youtu.be/FuX5_OWObA0?si=hhwjZU9h7EF5Fsz6
*Lyrics:*
Its Starlight Zone
Its the place where the star light glows
Starlight Zone
Its a zone
where your dreams will not be alone
Starlight Zone
In Starlight Zone
Theres a light you can call your own
Starlight Zone
Its the zone
Where you can always feel at home.
๐*Socials*
๐ฆ *Twitter* https://twitter.com/InrMotionMusic
โ๏ธ *BlueSky* https://bsky.app/profile/innermotionmusic.bsky.social
๐ท *Instagram* https://www.instagram.com/innermotionmusic/
๐ท *tiktok* https://www.tiktok.com/@innermotionmusic?lang=en
๐ชข *Threads* https://www.threads.net/@innermotionmusic
โ *Ko-Fi* https://ko-fi.com/innermotionmusic
๐ *Music Links*
๐ต *Spotify* https://open.spotify.com/artist/4deXKpk5X04fXVQh6LDYeS
๐ต *Apple Music* https://music.apple.com/us/artist/inner-motion-music/1529898132
๐ต *Band Camp* https://innermotionmusic.bandcamp.com/
*Original composer:* Masato Nakamura
*Produced by:* Inner Motion Music
*Arranged, performed, mixed, and mastered by:* Jerrold Kavanagh
Relaxing video game music for sleeping. Relaxing video game music for art, painting, and drawing. Relaxing sega music. sonic the hedgehog music video. Music for inspiration. canciรณn de videojuegos. ใฒใผใ ้ณๆฅฝ ใฒใผใ ใใฅใผใธใใฏ. เคตเฅเคกเคฟเคฏเฅ เคเฅเคฎ เคธเคเคเฅเคค.
Sonic the Hedgehog[a] is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main Sonic the Hedgehog games are platformers mostly developed by Sonic Team; other games, developed by various studios, include spin-offs in the racing, fighting, party and sports genres. The franchise also incorporates printed media, animations, feature films, and merchandise.")
![Final Fantasy I: Prelude [Synth Cover]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ya2ep-53YiY/mqdefault.jpg "Final Fantasy I: Prelude [Synth Cover]
This is a cover of Nobuo Uematsus Prelude from the original Final Fantasy game for the NES. It was recorded with a Korg DS-8 synthesizer. The Korg DS-8 has an interesting story...
In the 1970s Yamaha began developing a type of synthesis known as Frequency Modulation (or FM for short). They released the GS-1, and later the more famous DX-7 in the early 1980s which made use of the new technology. Since Yamaha held the patent for FM synthesis, Korg had to license it from them to develop the DS-8, which was released in 1987. The DS-8 is sort of a stripped down version of the DX-7, but has its own character and charm. Since Final Fantasy was released in 1987 in Japan, I thought it would be fitting to record this classic piece of music with an actual DS-8.
๐ *Socials*
โ๏ธ *BlueSky* https://bsky.app/profile/innermotionmusic.bsky.social
๐ท *Instagram* https://www.instagram.com/innermotionmusic/
๐ฆ *Twitter* https://twitter.com/InrMotionMusic
๐ท *tiktok* https://www.tiktok.com/@innermotionmusic?lang=en
๐ชข *Threads* https://www.threads.net/@innermotionmusic
โ *Ko-Fi* https://ko-fi.com/innermotionmusic
๐ *Streaming*
๐ต *Spotify* https://open.spotify.com/artist/4deXKpk5X04fXVQh6LDYeS
๐ต *Apple Music* https://music.apple.com/us/artist/inner-motion-music/1529898132
๐ต *Band Camp* https://innermotionmusic.bandcamp.com/
*Original composers:* Nobuo Uematsu
*Produced by:* Inner Motion Music
*Arranged, performed, mixed, and mastered by:* Jerrold Kavanagh
Relaxing video game music for sleeping. Relaxing video game music for art, painting, and drawing. Relaxing Final Fantasy music. Final Fantasy music video. Music for inspiration. Adventure instrumental music. canciรณn de videojuegos. ใฒใผใ ้ณๆฅฝ ใฒใผใ ใใฅใผใธใใฏ. เคตเฅเคกเคฟเคฏเฅ เคเฅเคฎ เคธเคเคเฅเคค. ์ ค๋ค.")
![Sinfonia No.9 in F Minor BWV #795 [8bit Cover]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yyweg0YlEM8/mqdefault.jpg "Sinfonia No.9 in F Minor BWV #795 [8bit Cover]
The ninth of Bachs 15 Sinfonias (three part inventions) arranged for FamiTracker.
I took a different approach with this project than I did with the Two Part Inventions. Since latter is composed of only two voices, I used the empty channels in the FamiTracker to simulate reverb and delay effects to give the pieces a sense of depth, space, and life. I also kept them in mono, so they were generally a more pure representation of the NES hardware.
Since the Sinfonias introduce a third voice, I decided that I would do most of the sound design inside FamiTracker and export the stems to process inside Ableton Live. The result is less pure to the Chip Tune ethos, but I think service the music in a deeper way. The use of stereo mixing allows for the 3 parts to be spread out across the stereo field, giving the piece a wider sense of perspective - and the use of more conventional reverb and delay effects puts it in more of a real world environment.
As for the pieces themselves, I was less familiar with the Sinfonias than I was the Two Part Inventions. I also didnt do as much consulting of existing recordings for reference. Instead I tried to rely more on my own decisions about tempo, phrasing, and articulations so the interpretations may be less conventional.
Thanks for Listening!
๐ต Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4deXK...
๐ต Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/artist/inn...
๐ท Instagran https://www.instagram.com/innermotion...
โ Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/innermotionmusic
#Chiptune #Famitracker #Bach #2partinvention #JSBach #twopartinvention #threepartinvention #3partinvention #sinfonia #Baroquemusic #8bit #8bitmusic #NES #NESmusic")
![Invention No 10 in G Major [Chip Tune Arrangement]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_3rH8BHOSXA/mqdefault.jpg "Invention No 10 in G Major [Chip Tune Arrangement]
This Invention gives off some pretty strong Jesu, Joy of Mans Desiring vibes - only its an Allegro tempo. Nevertheless, its a 0:44 second romp that is guaranteed to put you in a better mood.
Thanks for listening.
๐ต Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4deXKpk5X04fXVQh6LDYeS
๐ต Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/inner-motion-music/1529898132
๐ท Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innermotionmusic/
โ Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/innermotionmusic
#Chiptune #Bach #Famitracker")
![BATTLE THEME โบ Final Fantasy Mystic Quest [Lo-Fi Cover]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_4jBpIH-fRA/mqdefault.jpg "BATTLE THEME โบ Final Fantasy Mystic Quest [Lo-Fi Cover]
*Stream on Spotify:* โบ https://open.spotify.com/album/3SxCX7fwp5yNbydnvUo7DQ
*Download free on Bancamp!:* โบ https://innermotionmusic.bandcamp.com/album/lo-final-fantasy-mystic-quest-2
๐ *Links:*
๐ต *Spotify* https://open.spotify.com/artist/4deXKpk5X04fXVQh6LDYeS
๐ต *Apple Music* https://music.apple.com/us/artist/inner-motion-music/1529898132
๐ต *Band Camp* https://innermotionmusic.bandcamp.com/
๐ท *Instagram* https://www.instagram.com/innermotionmusic/
๐ท *tiktok* https://www.tiktok.com/@innermotionmusic?lang=en
I spent many hours waking up before dawn and playing Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest for hours before school back in the early 90s. The game itself is a bit of an after thought for most people, but it offered some really great music - so here is my Lo-Fi Hip Hop arrangement of Battle Theme.
*Original composers:* Ryuji Sasai and Yasuhiro Kawakami.
*Produced by:* Inner Motion Music
*Performed and Arranged by:* Jerrold Kavanagh
#finalfantasy #videogamecover #lofi
Relaxing video game music for sleeping. Relaxing video game music for art, painting, and drawing. Music for inspiration. canciรณn de videojuegos. ใฒใผใ ้ณๆฅฝ ใฒใผใ ใใฅใผใธใใฏ. เคตเฅเคกเคฟเคฏเฅ เคเฅเคฎ เคธเคเคเฅเคค.")
