One of the music apps (of which I am obsessed with many) that I have been using the most recently and having a ton of fun with is Nanoloop. Nanoloop was originally made by Oliver Wittchow for the Gameboy (1.x) and then the Gameboy Advance (2.x) and has seen some incredible work done by chiptune composers for many years. It is the most used chiptune tracker/sequencer in addition to LSDJ for sure. I don’t have the Gameboy or Advance version, as the cartridge is hard to find and actually pretty pricey, but fortunately Oliver wrote a new version for the iPhone (and Android too) for only $2.99 which is pretty awesome.
It takes the same basic form as the Gameboy versions, with a 16 square grid making up each bar of music that can then be sequenced in the song editor. But its not just a rehash either, it is its own beast with its own sounds. He has stated that it is not meant to emulate or sound “8-bit”, but you can still get some very chiptune sounding stuff out of it if you want…or not.
Anyway, its great fun. You have 3 basic synth engines: FM, square, and noise. Then you also can upload or record samples. You have 6 instruments you can use, with up to 16 patterns for each. It seems very basic, but I’ve found it to be a fantastic constraint to creative thinking and the songwriting process. As bizarre as the whole system seems at first, I learned to use this little sequencer pretty quickly.
Here’s a couple of very basic tracks that I put together using mostly Nanoloop. I’m not the most gifted composer, and I’m still learning quite a bit, but they were fun to do.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
(FAWM 2011 song, very basic as I learned Nanoloop)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
(50/90 2011 song)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
(incomplete, still needs vocals and arranging)
Check out the Nanoloop for iPhone Website.
Check out sweet 8-bit tunes.
Buy Nanoloop for the iPhone (iTunes Link).