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== Structure ==
Module files store digitally recorded samples and several "patterns" or "pages" of music data in a form similar to that of a [[spreadsheet]].<ref name="principles">{{cite book|author1=Ranjan Parekh|title=Principles of Multimedia|date=2006|publisher=[[Tata McGraw-Hill]]|isbn=978-0-070-58833-2|pages=727|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TaNmc2IdNVwC|access-date=6 December 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226165819/https://books.google.com/books?id=TaNmc2IdNVwC&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=26 February 2018}}</ref> These patterns contain note numbers, instrument numbers, and controller messages.<ref name="principles"/> The number of notes that can be played simultaneously depends on how many "tracks" there are per pattern.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upei.ca/~acoustic/midi.html|title=MIDI and home computer music composition and performance|publisher=[[University of Prince Edward Island]]|date=21 October 1996|access-date=23 May 2015|first1=Perry|last1=Williams|first2=Chris|last2=Vessey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523132452/http://www.upei.ca/~acoustic/midi.html|archive-date=23 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> And the song is built of a pattern list, that tells in what order these patterns shall be played in the song.
A disadvantage of module files is that there is no real standard specification in how the modules should be played back properly, which may result in modules sounding slightly different in different players, sometimes quite significantly so. This is mostly due to effects that can be applied to the samples in the module file and how the authors of different players choose to implement them. However, tracker music has the advantage of requiring very little CPU overhead for playback, and is executed in real-time.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Karen Collins|author2=Bill Kapralos|author3=Holly Tessler|title=The Oxford Handbook of Interactive Audio|year=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-979722-6|pages=624|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbsBBAAAQBAJ|access-date=2014-09-13|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226165822/https://books.google.com/books?id=tbsBBAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=2018-02-26}}</ref>
== Popular formats ==
Each module file format builds on concepts introduced in its predecessors.
; The MOD format (.MOD)
: The [[MOD (file format)|MOD format]] was the first file format for tracked music. A very basic version of this format (with only very few pattern commands and short samples supported) was introduced by Karsten Obarski’s [[Ultimate Soundtracker]] in 1987 for the [[Commodore Amiga]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Olga Guriunova|title=Art Platforms and Cultural Production on the Internet|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-89310-7|pages=162|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=svTOmgMUGW0C|access-date=2014-09-13|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316220748/https://books.google.com/books?id=svTOmgMUGW0C&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=2017-03-16}}</ref> It was designed to use 4 channels and fifteen samples.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Peter Moormann|title=Music and Game: Perspectives on a Popular Alliance|date=11 August 2012|publisher=Springer VS|isbn=978-3-531-18913-0|pages=223|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYfROhvXMPAC|access-date=2014-09-13|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226165822/https://books.google.com/books?id=JYfROhvXMPAC&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=2018-02-26}}</ref><ref name="game sound">{{cite book|author1=Karen Collins|title=Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design|date=August 2008|publisher=[[MIT Press]]|isbn=978-0-262-03378-7|pages=216|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnw0Zb4St-wC|access-date=6 December 2014}}</ref> Ultimate SoundTracker was soon superseded by [[NoiseTracker]] and [[ProTrackerProtracker]], which allowed for more tracker commands (effects) and instruments.<ref name="game sound"/><ref name="ashgate">{{cite book|author1=Karen Collins|title=From Pac-Man to Pop Music: Interactive Audio in Games and New Media|date=12 May 2008|publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]]|isbn=978-0-754-66200-6|pages=250|edition=Kindle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vc-hAgAAQBAJ|access-date=6 December 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029154117/https://books.google.com/books?id=vc-hAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=29 October 2015}}</ref> Later, variants of the MOD format that appeared on the Personal Computer extended the number of channels, added [[Panning (audio)|panning]] commands (the Amiga’s four hardware channels had a pre-defined stereo setup) and expanded the Amiga’s frequency limit, allowing for more octaves of notes to be supported.<ref name="openmpt">{{cite web|url=https://wiki.openmpt.org/Manual:_Module_formats|title=OpenMPT Documentation|access-date=26 December 2015|author=OpenMPT|author-link=OpenMPT|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227063122/https://wiki.openmpt.org/Manual:_Module_formats|archive-date=27 December 2015}}</ref>
: Arguably one of the most widespread tracker formats (also due to its use in many computer games and demos), it is also one of the simplest to use, but also only provides few pattern commands to use.
; The Oktalyzer format (.OKT)
== Music disk ==
{{redirect-distinguish|Music disk|Compact Disc Digital Audio}}
Music disk, or musicdisk, is a term used by the demoscene to describe a collection of songs made on a computer. They are essentially the computer equivalent of an [[album]]. A music disk is typically packaged in the form of a program with a custom [[user interface]], so the listener does not need other software to play the songs.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/96/94|title=Endless loop: A brief history of chiptunes|journal=[[Organization for Transformative Works|Transformative Works and Cultures]]|date=2009|access-date=23 May 2015|first1=Kevin|last1=Driscoll|first2=Joshua|last2=Diaz|volume=2 |doi=10.3983/twc.2009.096 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525141732/http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/96/94|archive-date=25 May 2015|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref> The "disk" part of the term comes from the fact that music disks were once made to fit on a single [[floppy disk]], so they could be easily distributed at [[demoparty|demo parties]]. On modern [[platform (computing)|platforms]], music disks are usually downloaded to a [[hard disk drive]].
[[Amiga]] music disks usually consist of [[MOD (file format)|MOD]] files, while [[IBM PC|PC]] music disks often contain multichannel formats such as [[Fast Tracker|XM]] or [[Impulse Tracker|IT]]. Music disks are also common on the [[Commodore 64]] and [[Atari ST]], where they use their own native formats.
* XMP (Linux, Android)
* [[foobar2000]] (Windows) (with foo_dumb or foo_openmpt plugin)
* [[Mod4Win]] (Windows), one of the first Windows Mod player
* [[K-Multimedia Player]] (Windows)
* [[Audacious (software)|Audacious]] (Linux, Windows)
* Amigaamp (Amiga)
* JavaMod (Linux, macOS, Windows)
* VLC
{{see also|list of Amiga music format players}}
* [[MilkyTracker]] (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android)
* Schism Tracker (Windows, macOS, Linux)
* [[ProTrackerProtracker]] (Amiga, Windows, macOS, Linux)
* [[OctaMED]] (Amiga)
* [[Renoise]] (Windows, macOS, Linux)
*[[Demoscene]]
*''[[TraxWeekly]]''
*''[[Static Line (magazine)|Static Line]]''
== References ==
{{Chiptune-footer}}
{{Nerd music}}
[[Category:Demoscene]]
[[Category:Chiptune]]
[[Category:Module file formats| ]]
[[Category:Video game culture]]
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