Whether you are a filmmaker or a game developer, you may find it useful to have a tool that allows you to create simple music and tunes for your videos or games without having to purchase expensive and complex software. Bosca Ceoil is one of those software tools, on the contrary, that provides anything you need to create simple tunes without requiring too many resources or too much money. It was created specifically for game developers, but other content creators could make good use of it as well. So, let’s take a look at what it is and how to use it.
Bosca Ceoil: what is it?
As mentioned, Bosca Ceoil is a software that allows users to make music. However, we’d like to point out that you can use it both online (without downloading anything on your computer) or download the desktop application so that you can also use it if you are offline. Furthermore, Bosca Ceoil is completely free! Whether you use it online or download the application, you are not required to pay any price or monthly fee.
What kind of music you can create with Bosca Ceoil?
If you need to create complex songs or soundtracks, Bosca Ceoil isn’t the software for you. With this software tool, you can create simple tunes that have a retro sound. Remember those first video games that have become cult? If you need to create those effects – called Chiptunes, then Bosca Ceoil is the perfect tool.
Bosca Ceoil: first launch
When you first launch Bosca Ceoil, whether it is on your browser or through the application, the first thing you are provided with is the MIDI editor (it is also called the Piano Roll). The options menu would be on the top. The first thing you should adjust is the Pattern feature: it controls how many bars and beats each pattern has. Another important setting is the BPM that regulates the Beats per Minute. The higher the BPM the highest the rhythm and speed of the Chiptune.
Patterns
To start a new pattern, you can click on the Arrangement bar and then Add New. Patterns are individual schemes for musical notes that you can add simply by clicking on the piano roll. Once you’ve created the pattern, you can add it to the playlist by dragging and dropping it from the list to the right to the dashboard on the left. If you want to duplicate a pattern, you can drag and drop a single pattern to another line, and it’ll create a duplicate.
Loops
If a pattern needs to repeat itself, you can create loops. How can you do it? Just between the Piano Roll and the playlist dashboard, there is a thin line. That is the timeline, and here you can set loop points by either clicking to set a 1 column loop, or dragging and dropping to replicate more than one column.
Instruments
When you create patterns, you add the note just by clicking on the Piano Roll, but what kind of sound will the note produce? That depends on the instrument you choose.
There are several instruments at your disposal and you select them in the Instrument tab (which is at the top of the page, just beside the Arrangements tab).
As we’ve mentioned, Bosca Ceoil is made to create retro sound effects and Chiptune, so the instruments you’ll find on the list are all retro virtual instruments and synths. There is, however, a very wide selection of instruments that allow you to create, within the genre, very unique Chiptunes.
Volume and Low Pass filter
You can control the volume of each instrument and also set the position of the low pass filter. The low pass filter is a band on the EQ capable of reducing the volume of specific frequencies.
Bottom options
Finally, let’s speak about the option at the bottom of the software window. On the right, you can select the key which is simply the note a scale starts from. Next to the key option, there is the scale select: it will only display the notes in that scale, based on the key you’ve selected. Next to that, there is the Pitch setting: you can transpose or change the pitch of the entire pattern. On the far left, the last option lets you select the instrument that is used for the pattern you currently have opened.
How to make music with Bosca Ceoil for your Game
Now that we’ve gone through all the options and features of Bosca Ceoil, let’s discuss how to actually work to create your very unique Chiptune. As you could see from our tutorial, the software has some simple and more advanced options that could seem overwhelming to a beginner. For this reason, we thought of providing the simplest guide to start creating Chiptune with Bosca Ceoil. Once you’ve managed the simple stuff, you can start playing with options and features and scale up your abilities.
Step 1: Create the basic pattern
The simplest chiptunes are made by a basic pattern with additional ones that enrich the composition. So, your first step would be to create the basic, or main pattern.
Select the instrument, and start clicking on the Piano Roll (left-click to add a note, right-click to delete it) to create your pattern. If you need a simple sound effect for your game, you can stop here.
Step 2: Create additional patterns
If you want to add complexity to your chiptune, start creating additional patterns.
Step 3: Create a playlist and add a loop
Of course, the patterns need to work together. Add the pattern on the playlist or audio track, and start listening to how they sound together. You can also create loops at this point so add length to your audio track.
Step 4: Additional adjustment
The basic track is created, and now you play with effects, pitch, and volume to add complexity to your chiptunes.
