Establish a source sound. Open the step sequencer on your music production software. The method for doing this varies from program to program, but the step sequencer is a common feature on most commercially available sequencing software, including Reason, Cubase, Logic and Pro Tools. Assign a wave-form to the step sequencer. This becomes the carrier wave. Typically the easiest way of assigning a wave-form to the step sequencer is to click “filter” in the step sequencer options. This opens up a range of editing options for customizing the wave-form
Customize the wave-form to approximate the typical eight-bit tone. Adjust the filter parameters, oscillator and wave-form shape until you establish a tone that you like.The sound of an eight-bit synth is typically monophonic, meaning that you can only play one note at a time.
Add rapid arpeggios. Chip music is characterized by fast, sweeping arpeggios. The method of adding arpeggios depends on the program, but the typical method is to select “arpeggio” on the step sequencer interface. Open the “run” mode option and select “repeat.” This means the wave-form repeats the arpeggio indefinitely until you hit another note. Select the fastest arpeggio as a starting point and adjust the speed downward to suit your taste.
Save the arpeggiated wave-form as a sound and add it to your library. Export the sound from the library to your audio sequencer interface. Assign the patch to a channel on the channel strip. For the sake of ease, use channel one for your wave-form and leave channel two empty for percussion.
Select a tempo by adjusting the beats per minute value in the audio sequencer. One hundred and twenty beats per minute is typically the default tempo; increase this to approximately 200 beats per minute as a starting point.
Select record and play in a basic melody. Add "delay" to the wave-form. Open up the plug-in menu and select “delay.” Typical delay settings for chip music have low feedback and moderately high delay speeds.
Add percussion. Assign a basic electronic drum sound to channel two. Use only basic percussion patterns.