Comment by embedding-shape
12 hours ago
At one point in time, (I think maybe in connection with some mobile phone being able to play .midi files?) MIDI songs was (incorrectly) referring to a style/type of music rather than the transport/protocol we use for sending notes between instruments/devices, or the file format.
I'm still since then always assuming the above when someone says "MIDI music"; they really mean "really basic/simple music" or just straight up "chiptune" sometimes.
It has nothing to do with MIDI really, just a misnomer.
I'd say 'MIDI music' became a catch-all for music that's represented as data that is in turn triggering samples, rather than being a pure audio file. Might be actual MIDI or might be tracker music etc.
A more appropriate term is "chiptunes". I also heard people refer to it as keygen music.
If it's a tracker module of some kind with very short looping samples, then yeah, it's a chiptune.
IMHO, a “chiptune” is music for an FM synthesis chip, like on the NES, the SID chip in Commodore 64, or the AdLib sound card for PC. A “mod” or “tracker music” is music made for a range of platforms in a rather narrow time-band, that could play digital samples, but could not reasonably store entire songs recorded digitally, like the Amiga, Atari ST, or early PC’s like 386s or 486s.
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