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Do You Sing with an 8 Bit Voice?

It wasn't until computers had at least 8-bits of memory that they really started making music. But what is music? 8-bit music is far more complex than just beeps and bleeps, but truth be told, 8-bit sound chips can only beep, albeit at different frequencies and with variations of the sound envelope and volume.

What then makes the beep, music? Music actually exists in our brains; instruments and computers only make sounds. It is our own minds that turn it into music. 8-bits of computer memory, on a sound chip or in the processor, seems to be just enough memory to allow the sounds to reach a level of complexity that our minds demand in order to call sound, music. Why did 8-bit computers emerge as music makers?

Music hinges on two fundamental qualities: pitch space and tempo. When our ears hear sounds, our minds sift through the sounds looking for patterns. We humans are good at sorting and remembering only about 7 to 8 things (8-bits) at a time, and in Western cultures, our brains are only able to discern about 12 unique pitches, or musical tones. Much music is based on no more than seven unique tones (do, re, mi, etc.)

As the brain hears the sound and shapes the pattern, it both remembers and anticipates what it hears. Play any recognizable tune with the right notes, but hold the notes for the wrong length of time and the song becomes unrecognizable. Memory and anticipation - they represent the twin sisters of musical awareness. 8-bit devices, programmed to produce complex sounds, pass beyond noise and, in our minds, make music.

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