<s>
A	O
music	B-Application
tracker	I-Application
(	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
just	O
tracker	B-Application
for	O
short	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
music	O
sequencer	O
software	O
for	O
creating	O
music	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
music	B-Application
tracker	I-Application
's	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
is	O
usually	O
number	O
based	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
trackers	B-Application
departed	O
from	O
solely	O
using	O
module	O
files	O
,	O
adding	O
other	O
options	O
both	O
to	O
the	O
sound	O
synthesis	O
(	O
hosting	O
generic	O
synthesizers	O
and	O
effects	O
or	O
MIDI	O
output	O
)	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
sequencing	O
(	O
MIDI	O
input	O
and	O
recording	O
)	O
,	O
effectively	O
becoming	O
general	O
purpose	O
sequencers	O
with	O
a	O
different	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
2010s	O
,	O
tracker	B-Application
music	O
is	O
still	O
featured	O
in	O
demoscene	O
products	O
for	O
old	O
hardware	O
platforms	O
and	O
demoparties	O
have	O
often	O
separate	O
tracker	B-Application
music	O
competitions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tracker	B-Application
music	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
games	O
which	O
borrow	O
aesthetics	O
from	O
past	O
decades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
tracker	B-Application
derives	O
from	O
Ultimate	B-Device
Soundtracker	I-Device
(	O
the	O
first	O
tracker	B-Application
software	O
)	O
written	O
by	O
Karsten	B-Device
Obarski	I-Device
and	O
released	O
in	O
1987	O
by	O
EAS	O
Computer	O
Technik	O
for	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimate	B-Device
Soundtracker	I-Device
was	O
a	O
commercial	O
product	O
,	O
but	O
soon	O
shareware	B-License
clones	B-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
NoiseTracker	B-Device
(	O
1989	O
)	O
appeared	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
general	O
concept	O
of	O
step-sequencing	O
samples	B-Algorithm
numerically	O
,	O
as	O
used	O
in	O
trackers	B-Application
,	O
is	O
also	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
Fairlight	O
CMI	O
sampling	O
workstation	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
early	O
tracker-like	O
programs	O
appeared	O
for	O
the	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
(	O
Yamaha	O
CX5M	O
)	O
and	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
before	O
1987	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Sound	O
Monitor	O
,	O
but	O
these	O
did	O
not	O
feature	O
sample	O
playback	O
,	O
instead	O
playing	O
notes	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
internal	O
synthesizer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
programs	O
like	O
Rock	O
Monitor	O
also	O
supported	O
additional	O
sample	O
playback	O
,	O
usually	O
with	O
short	O
drum	O
samples	B-Algorithm
loaded	O
in	O
RAM	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
trackers	B-Application
supported	O
four	O
pitch	O
and	O
volume	O
modulated	O
channels	O
of	O
8-bit	O
PCM	B-Algorithm
samples	B-Algorithm
,	O
a	O
limitation	O
derived	O
from	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
's	O
Paula	O
audio	O
chipset	O
and	O
the	O
commonplace	O
8SVX	B-Operating_System
format	O
used	O
to	O
store	O
sampled	O
sound	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
notes	O
were	O
samples	B-Algorithm
,	O
the	O
limitation	O
was	O
less	O
important	O
than	O
those	O
of	O
synthesizing	O
music	O
chips	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
tracker	B-Application
musicians	O
gravitated	O
to	O
the	O
PC	O
as	O
software	O
production	O
in	O
general	O
switched	O
from	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
platform	I-Device
to	O
the	O
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
IBM	O
and	O
compatibles	O
initially	O
lacked	O
the	O
hardware	O
sound	O
processing	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
the	O
Sound	B-Application
Blaster	I-Application
line	O
from	O
Creative	O
,	O
PC	O
audio	O
slowly	O
began	O
to	O
approach	O
CD	O
Quality	O
(	O
44.1	O
kHz/16	O
bit/Stereo	O
)	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
SoundBlaster	B-Device
16	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
sound	O
card	O
popular	O
on	O
the	O
PC	O
tracker	B-Application
scene	O
was	O
the	O
Gravis	B-Application
Ultrasound	I-Application
,	O
which	O
continued	O
the	O
hardware	O
mixing	O
tradition	O
,	O
with	O
32	O
internal	O
channels	O
and	O
onboard	O
memory	O
for	O
sample	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
it	O
offered	O
unparalleled	O
sound	O
quality	O
and	O
became	O
the	O
choice	O
of	O
discerning	O
tracker	B-Application
musicians	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Understanding	O
that	O
the	O
support	O
of	O
tracker	B-Application
music	O
would	O
benefit	O
sales	O
,	O
Gravis	O
gave	O
away	O
some	O
6000	O
GUS	O
cards	O
to	O
participants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inevitably	O
,	O
the	O
balance	O
was	O
largely	O
redressed	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
AWE32	I-Device
and	O
its	O
successors	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
featured	O
on-board	O
RAM	O
and	O
wavetable	O
(	O
or	O
sample	O
table	O
)	O
mixing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
responsibility	O
for	O
audio	O
mixing	O
passed	O
from	O
hardware	O
to	O
software	O
(	O
the	O
main	O
CPU	B-Device
)	O
which	O
gradually	O
enabled	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
more	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
the	O
typical	O
4	O
MOD	O
channels	O
of	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
the	O
limit	O
had	O
moved	O
to	O
7	O
with	O
TFMX	O
players	O
and	O
8	O
,	O
first	O
with	O
Oktalyzer	O
and	O
later	O
with	O
the	O
vastly	O
more	O
popular	O
OctaMED	O
(	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
1989	O
)	O
,	O
then	O
16	O
with	O
ScreamTracker	B-Application
3	I-Application
(	O
PC	O
,	O
1994	O
)	O
and	O
32	O
with	O
FastTracker	O
2	O
(	O
PC	O
,	O
1994	O
)	O
and	O
on	O
to	O
64	O
with	O
Impulse	B-Application
Tracker	I-Application
(	O
PC	O
,	O
1995	O
)	O
and	O
MED	O
SoundStudio	O
(	O
updated	O
version	O
of	O
OctaMED	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Amiga	B-Device
tracker	B-Application
called	O
Symphonie	O
Pro	O
even	O
supported	O
256	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MMX	B-Architecture
)	O
and	O
companies	O
began	O
to	O
push	O
Hardware	B-Operating_System
Abstraction	I-Operating_System
Layers	I-Operating_System
,	O
like	O
DirectX	B-Application
,	O
the	O
AWE	O
and	O
GUS	O
range	O
became	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Application
,	O
WDM	B-Application
and	O
,	O
now	O
more	O
commonly	O
,	O
ASIO	B-Library
,	O
deliver	O
high-quality	O
sampled	O
audio	O
irrespective	O
of	O
hardware	O
brand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
split	O
off	O
from	O
the	O
sample	O
based	O
trackers	B-Application
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
OPL2	O
and	O
OPL3	O
chips	O
of	O
the	O
Sound	B-Application
Blaster	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
Sound	O
Tracker	B-Application
was	O
able	O
to	O
combine	O
both	O
the	O
FM	O
synthesis	O
of	O
the	O
OPL	O
chips	O
and	O
the	O
sample	O
based	O
synthesis	O
of	O
the	O
EMU-8000	O
chips	O
in	O
the	O
Sound	B-Application
Blaster	I-Application
AWE	O
series	O
of	O
cards	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
MIDI	O
output	O
to	O
any	O
additional	O
hardware	O
of	O
choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jeskola	O
Buzz	O
is	O
a	O
modular	O
music	O
studio	O
developed	O
from	O
1997-2000	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
using	O
a	O
tracker	B-Application
as	O
its	O
sequencer	O
where	O
the	O
sounds	O
where	O
produced	O
by	O
virtual	O
machines	O
(	O
Buzzmachines	O
)	O
such	O
as	O
signal	O
generators	O
,	O
synthesizer	O
emulators	O
,	O
drum	O
computers	O
,	O
samplers	B-Algorithm
,	O
effects	O
and	O
control	O
machines	O
,	O
that	O
where	O
connected	O
in	O
a	O
modular	O
setup	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
machine	O
would	O
have	O
its	O
own	O
tracker	B-Application
,	O
drum	O
machines	O
would	O
use	O
a	O
tracker-like	O
drum	O
pattern	O
editor	O
and	O
effect	O
and	O
control	O
machines	O
could	O
be	O
automated	O
tracker-like	O
via	O
tables	O
of	O
parameters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tracker	B-Application
music	O
could	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
computer	O
games	O
of	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
and	O
early	O
2000s	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Unreal	O
series	O
,	O
Deus	B-Application
Ex	I-Application
,	O
Crusader	B-Application
:	I-Application
No	I-Application
Remorse	I-Application
,	O
Jazz	B-Application
Jackrabbit	I-Application
and	O
Uplink	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
Amiga	B-Device
trackers	B-Application
such	O
as	O
Protracker	B-Device
(	O
1990	O
)	O
and	O
OctaMED	O
have	O
received	O
various	O
updates	O
,	O
mostly	O
for	O
porting	O
to	O
other	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Protracker	B-Device
having	O
resumed	O
development	O
in	O
2004	O
,	O
with	O
plans	O
for	O
releasing	O
version	O
5	O
to	O
Windows	O
and	O
AmigaOS	B-Application
,	O
but	O
only	O
version	O
4.0	O
beta	O
2	O
for	O
AmigaOS	B-Application
has	O
been	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
2007	O
,	O
Renoise	B-Application
(	O
PC	O
,	O
2002	O
)	O
and	O
OpenMPT	B-Language
(	O
PC	O
,	O
1997	O
)	O
were	O
presented	O
in	O
Computer	O
Music	O
Magazine	O
as	O
professional	O
and	O
inexpensive	O
alternative	O
to	O
other	O
music	O
production	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
trackers	B-Application
include	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
limited	O
to	O
Deflemask	O
,	O
Famitracker	O
and	O
Furnace	O
(	O
which	O
currently	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
tracker	B-Application
allowing	O
multiple	O
sound	O
chips	O
from	O
multiple	O
systems	O
to	O
be	O
played	O
simultaneously	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
Commodore	O
64	O
and	O
NEC	B-Operating_System
PC-9800	I-Operating_System
series	I-Operating_System
together	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
elements	O
common	O
to	O
any	O
tracker	B-Application
program	O
:	O
samples	B-Algorithm
,	O
notes	O
,	O
effects	O
,	O
tracks	O
(	O
or	O
channels	O
)	O
,	O
patterns	O
,	O
and	O
orders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
trackers	B-Application
allow	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
sample	O
to	O
be	O
looped	O
,	O
simulating	O
a	O
sustain	O
of	O
a	O
note	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
increasing	O
or	O
decreasing	O
the	O
playback	O
speed	O
of	O
a	O
digital	B-Algorithm
sample	I-Algorithm
,	O
the	O
pitch	O
is	O
raised	O
or	O
lowered	O
,	O
simulating	O
instrumental	O
notes	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
C	O
,	O
C#	O
,	O
D	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Common	O
tracker	B-Application
effects	O
include	O
volume	O
,	O
portamento	O
,	O
vibrato	O
,	O
retrigger	O
,	O
and	O
arpeggio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
the	O
original	O
Amiga	B-Device
trackers	B-Application
only	O
provided	O
four	O
tracks	O
,	O
the	O
hardware	O
limit	O
,	O
modern	O
trackers	B-Application
can	O
mix	O
a	O
virtually	O
unlimited	O
number	O
of	O
channels	O
into	O
one	O
sound	O
stream	O
through	O
software	O
mixing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tracks	O
have	O
a	O
fixed	O
number	O
of	O
"	O
rows	O
"	O
on	O
which	O
notes	O
and	O
effects	O
can	O
be	O
placed	O
(	O
most	O
trackers	B-Application
lay	O
out	O
tracks	O
in	O
a	O
vertical	O
fashion	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
course	O
,	O
bass	O
and	O
hats	O
could	O
be	O
interleaved	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
track	O
,	O
if	O
the	O
samples	B-Algorithm
are	O
short	O
enough	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
modern	O
trackers	B-Application
simulate	O
polyphony	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
track	O
by	O
setting	O
the	O
"	O
new	O
note	O
action	O
"	O
of	O
each	O
instrument	O
to	O
cut	O
,	O
continue	O
,	O
fade	O
out	O
,	O
or	O
release	O
,	O
opening	O
new	O
mixing	O
channels	O
as	O
necessary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
some	O
tracker-like	O
programs	O
that	O
utilize	O
tracker-style	O
sequencing	O
schemes	O
,	O
while	O
using	O
real-time	O
sound	O
synthesis	O
instead	O
of	O
samples	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
these	O
programs	O
are	O
designed	O
for	O
creating	O
music	O
for	O
a	O
particular	O
synthesizer	O
chip	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
OPL	O
chips	O
of	O
the	O
Adlib	O
and	O
SoundBlaster	B-Application
sound	O
cards	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
sound	O
chips	O
of	O
classic	O
home	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tracker	B-Application
music	O
is	O
typically	O
stored	O
in	O
module	O
files	O
where	O
the	O
song	O
data	O
and	O
samples	B-Algorithm
are	O
encapsulated	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
these	O
formats	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
imported	O
into	O
existing	O
trackers	B-Application
,	O
allowing	O
to	O
view	O
arrangement	O
,	O
instrumentation	O
and	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
effect	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
also	O
makes	O
the	O
self-teaching	O
of	O
music	O
composition	O
using	O
trackers	B-Application
easier	O
and	O
allows	O
to	O
extract	O
instruments	O
for	O
later	O
use	O
in	O
own	O
songs	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
very	O
common	O
.	O
</s>
