Module file
Encyclopedia
Module files are a family of music file format
s originating from the MOD
file format on Amiga
systems used in late 1980s. Those who produce these files (using the software called trackers) and listen to them, form the worldwide MOD scene, a part of the Demoscene
subculture
, which involves a large number of people in many countries of the world which is hard to count due to underground nature of this scene. The mass interchange of "MOD music" or "tracker music" (music stored in module files created with trackers) evolves from early FIDO
networks. Nowadays most module files, including ones in zipped form, are supported by most popular media players such as Winamp
, VLC
, Amarok, Exaile
and many others. Many websites host large numbers of these files, the most comprehensive of them being the Mod Archive
.
. These patterns contain note numbers, instrument numbers, and controller messages. The number of notes that can be played simultaneously depends on how many tracks there are per pattern.
Module files also give a list of the order in which to play the patterns. However, the biggest advantage of MOD family over standard MIDI
files is that MODs include their own audio samples
and should sound exactly the same from one player to another, barring interpolation
methods and any errors in players.
Module files are also referred to as tracker modules, and the process of composing modules is known as tracking, simply because the first ever module creating program was Ultimate Soundtracker
, created by Karsten Obarski in 1987. Soundtracker was cloned many times, with programs such as NoiseTracker
and ProTracker
being direct descendants from the original Soundtracker code, and others such as MED/OctaMED
and Oktalyzer being written from scratch. Such programs are called trackers in general.
A disadvantage of module files is that there is no real standard specification in how the modules should be played back properly, which may result in modules sounding slightly different in different players. This is mostly due to effects that can be applied to the samples in the module file and how the authors of different players choose to implement them.
due to its nature. The article “Tracker (music software)” has the details on the development of this scene and its current state. Many tracker musicians gained international prominence within MOD software users and some of them are listed in the :Category:Tracker musicians.
Sound/Pro/Noisetracker module (file extension .mod
, or mod. prefix on Amiga
systems)
Oktalyzer (originated on Amiga computers)
MED/OctaMED
(originated on Amiga computers)
AHX (originated on Amiga computers)
.s3m
(originated in ScreamTracker version 3 for PC)
.xm
(originated in Fast Tracker
)
.it (originated in Impulse Tracker
)
.ned (Nerd Tracker II)
.mo3
.mtm
.umx
File format
A file format is a particular way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa. There are different kinds of formats for...
s originating from the MOD
MOD (file format)
MOD is a computer file format used primarily to represent music, and was the first module file format. MOD files use the “.MOD” file extension, except on the Amiga where the original trackers instead use a “mod.” prefix scheme, e.g. “mod.echoing”...
file format on Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
systems used in late 1980s. Those who produce these files (using the software called trackers) and listen to them, form the worldwide MOD scene, a part of the Demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
, which involves a large number of people in many countries of the world which is hard to count due to underground nature of this scene. The mass interchange of "MOD music" or "tracker music" (music stored in module files created with trackers) evolves from early FIDO
FidoNet
FidoNet is a worldwide computer network that is used for communication between bulletin board systems. It was most popular in the early to mid 1990s, prior to the introduction of easy and affordable access to the Internet...
networks. Nowadays most module files, including ones in zipped form, are supported by most popular media players such as Winamp
Winamp
Winamp is a media player for Windows-based PCs and Android devices, written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL. It is proprietary freeware/shareware, multi-format, extensible with plug-ins and skins, and is noted for its graphical sound visualization, playlist, and media library features.Winamp...
, VLC
VLC media player
VLC media player is a free and open source media player and multimedia framework written by the VideoLAN project.VLC is a portable multimedia player, encoder, and streamer supporting many audio and video codecs and file formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It is able to...
, Amarok, Exaile
Exaile
Exaile is a music player that was originally conceived to be similar in style and function to KDE's Amarok 1.4, but use the GTK+ widget toolkit rather than Qt...
and many others. Many websites host large numbers of these files, the most comprehensive of them being the Mod Archive
Mod Archive
The Mod Archive is a web site dedicated to the indexing and archival of playable music module files. It allows anyone to upload modules in the MOD, IT, XM, AHX, MED, MTM, S3M, MO3, 669, HVL and STM file formats, and provides charts, reviews and ratings of music files based on a community...
.
Structure
Module files store several patterns or pages of music data in a form similar to that of a spreadsheetSpreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
. These patterns contain note numbers, instrument numbers, and controller messages. The number of notes that can be played simultaneously depends on how many tracks there are per pattern.
Module files also give a list of the order in which to play the patterns. However, the biggest advantage of MOD family over standard MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIDI is an industry-standard protocol, first defined in 1982 by Gordon Hall, that enables electronic musical instruments , computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other...
files is that MODs include their own audio samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and should sound exactly the same from one player to another, barring interpolation
Interpolation
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points....
methods and any errors in players.
Module files are also referred to as tracker modules, and the process of composing modules is known as tracking, simply because the first ever module creating program was Ultimate Soundtracker
Ultimate Soundtracker
Ultimate Soundtracker, or Soundtracker for short, is a music tracker program for the Commodore Amiga. It is the creation of Karsten Obarski, a German software developer and composer at a game development company; sources differ as to the name of the company, recorded it as reLINE, whereas ...
, created by Karsten Obarski in 1987. Soundtracker was cloned many times, with programs such as NoiseTracker
NoiseTracker
NoiseTracker was a freeware tracker created 1989 for the Amiga platform. It was based on the Ultimate Soundtracker and developed by Pex "Mahoney" Tufvesson and Anders “Kaktus” Berkeman. It was used by Amiga game musicians to create music with four channels of sampled stereo sound, e.g. for Shadow...
and ProTracker
Protracker
ProTracker is a popular freeware tracker created by Lars Hamre, Anders Hamre, Sven Vahsen and Rune Johnsrud for the Amiga platform. It is amongst the programs that first allowed for widespread creation of music without studio equipment...
being direct descendants from the original Soundtracker code, and others such as MED/OctaMED
OctaMED
OctaMED is a popular sound tracker for the Commodore Amiga, written by Teijo Kinnunen. The first version, 1.12, was released in 1989 under the name MED, which stands for Music EDitor. In April 1990, version 2.00 was released with MIDI support as the main improvement...
and Oktalyzer being written from scratch. Such programs are called trackers in general.
A disadvantage of module files is that there is no real standard specification in how the modules should be played back properly, which may result in modules sounding slightly different in different players. This is mostly due to effects that can be applied to the samples in the module file and how the authors of different players choose to implement them.
“Scene”
For the time of the existence of module files, people concerned with them formed world-wide, multi-thousand populated, so called MOD scene which is closely related to the DemosceneDemoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
due to its nature. The article “Tracker (music software)” has the details on the development of this scene and its current state. Many tracker musicians gained international prominence within MOD software users and some of them are listed in the :Category:Tracker musicians.
Popular formats
Each module file format builds on concepts introduced in its predecessors.Sound/Pro/Noisetracker module (file extension .mod
MOD (file format)
MOD is a computer file format used primarily to represent music, and was the first module file format. MOD files use the “.MOD” file extension, except on the Amiga where the original trackers instead use a “mod.” prefix scheme, e.g. “mod.echoing”...
, or mod. prefix on Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
systems)
- This is the original module format. Uses inverse-frequency note numbers. 4 voices, with up to 32 in later variations of the format. Pattern data is not packed. Instruments are simple volume levels; samples and instruments correspond one-to-one. 15 instruments in the original Soundtracker, 31 in later trackers. This format was originally created to be easily playable with the Amiga hardware, since it was equipped with a four-channel DACDigital-to-analog converterIn electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
. The CPUCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
has to do very little work to play these modules on an Amiga. Many games utilize this format - often with small player programs included. In the early 1990s, usage of this format with games was widespread across platforms, with games on PC and Nintendo systems utilizing it, as well.
- The original .mod extension is actually not a suffix on the Amiga, but a prefix; mod.* is the standard naming convention on the Amiga, and same prefix standard is used in basically all the other various sample/synth-trackers ever made for the Amiga - Art of Noise, AHX/THX, Musicline, Startrekker, FutureComposer, SidMon, Brian Postma's SoundMon etc. The majority of the "oldschool format"-players for Windows, Linux, Mac OS etc. will, when trying to load an "original" mod.*-file (or ahx.*, bp.*, fc14.* and so on), simply not play it due not analysing the file to determine the type - they only check for a filename extension as a suffix. Simply renaming the file from "mod.filename" to "filename.mod" is usually a sufficient workaround.
Oktalyzer (originated on Amiga computers)
- This was an early effort to bring 8 channel sound to the Amiga. Later replayers have improved on the sound quality attainable from these modules by more demanding mixing technologies.
MED/OctaMED
OctaMED
OctaMED is a popular sound tracker for the Commodore Amiga, written by Teijo Kinnunen. The first version, 1.12, was released in 1989 under the name MED, which stands for Music EDitor. In April 1990, version 2.00 was released with MIDI support as the main improvement...
(originated on Amiga computers)
- This format is very similar to sound/pro/noisetracker, but the way the data is stored is different. MED was not a direct clone of SoundTracker, and had different features and file formats. OctaMED was an 8-channel version of MED, which eventually evolved into OctaMED Soundstudio (which offers 128-channel sound, optional synth sounds, MIDI support and lots of other high-end features).
AHX (originated on Amiga computers)
- This format is a synth-tracker. There are no samples in the module file, rather descriptions of how to synthesize the required sound. This results in very small audio files (AHX modules are typically 1k-4k in size), and a very characteristic sound. AHX is designed to sound as much like a Commodore 64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
as possible.
.s3m
S3M (file format)
The S3M format is an advanced module format, and is the successor to the STM format used by the original Scream Tracker. Both formats are based on the original MOD format used on the Commodore Amiga computer....
(originated in ScreamTracker version 3 for PC)
- Up to 16 or more voices. Samples can specify any playback frequency for middle CMiddle CC or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
. Simple packing of pattern data. Introduction of several new controllers and a dedicated "volume column" in each voice to replace volume controllers. Predictable support for stereo panning.
.xm
XM (file format)
XM, standing for "extended module", is an audio file type introduced by Triton's Fast Tracker 2. XM introduced multisampling-capable instruments with volume and panning envelopes, and basic pattern compression...
(originated in Fast Tracker
Fast Tracker
FastTracker 2 is a tracker created by Fredrik "Mr. H" Huss and Magnus "Vogue" Högdahl, two members of the demogroup Triton which set about releasing their own tracker after breaking into the scene in 1992 and winning several demo competitions. The source code of FastTracker 2 is written in Pascal...
)
- Introduction of instruments with volume and panning envelopes. Basic pattern compression, no sample compression. Added ping-pong loops to samples.
.it (originated in Impulse Tracker
Impulse Tracker
Impulse Tracker is a multi-track digital sound tracker . It was one of the last tracker programs for the DOS platform. It was authored by Jeffrey "Pulse" Lim, and example music was provided by Jeffrey Lim and Chris Jarvis...
)
- New Note Actions let the previous note in a track fade out on top of the next note (providing greater effective polyphonyPolyphonyIn music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
). Instruments can now share a sample. Adds some new effects such as a resonant filterRLC circuitAn RLC circuit is an electrical circuit consisting of a resistor, an inductor, and a capacitor, connected in series or in parallel. The RLC part of the name is due to those letters being the usual electrical symbols for resistance, inductance and capacitance respectively...
. Better pattern compression. Added sample compression. Added sustain loops to samples.
.ned (Nerd Tracker II)
- Designed for playback on Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. No samples in basic format (just tone generator instrument specification); extended format uses compressed samples but limits playback frequencies to the 16 rates that the NES hardware is capable of reproducing. Each channel has its own order list.
.mo3
MO3
MO3 is a music file format developed by Ian Luck. MO3 files are tracker modules that contain samples encoded in the MP3 or Ogg Vorbis file formats, rather than straight PCM samples . This results in a greatly reduced file size for the module, while maintaining almost identical audio quality...
- Created by Ian Luck to use MP3/OGG compressed samples
.mtm
- MultiTracker modules
.umx
- Unreal/TournamentUnreal TournamentUnreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...
music package. This is actually a standard Unreal package file that wraps one .mod, .s3m, .it or .xm file so it can be accessed from within the game.
Software module file players and converters
Players
- WinampWinampWinamp is a media player for Windows-based PCs and Android devices, written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL. It is proprietary freeware/shareware, multi-format, extensible with plug-ins and skins, and is noted for its graphical sound visualization, playlist, and media library features.Winamp...
(Windows) - foobar2000Foobar2000foobar2000 is a freeware audio player for Windows developed by Peter Pawlowski, a former freelance contractor for Nullsoft. It is known for its highly modular design and extensive SDK which allows third-party developers to do such things as completely replace the interface...
(Windows) (with foo_dumb plugin) - Mod4WinMod4WinMod4Win is a media player for module files written by Kay Bruns. It is skinnable, multi-format freeware. It was one the first Mod player for the Windows platform.Mod4Win was first released by Kay Bruns in 1993. Development was suspended in May 1999....
(Windows), one of the first Windows Mod player - VLCVLC media playerVLC media player is a free and open source media player and multimedia framework written by the VideoLAN project.VLC is a portable multimedia player, encoder, and streamer supporting many audio and video codecs and file formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It is able to...
(Linux, Mac OS X, Windows) - XMMSXMMSThe X Multimedia System is a free audio player for Unix-like systems.-History:XMMS was originally written as X11Amp by Peter and Mikael Alm in November 1997. The player was made to resemble Winamp, which was first released in May that year. As such, XMMS has supported Winamp 2 "classic" skins...
and XMMS2XMMS2XMMS2 is a new generation of the XMMS audio player. It is a new design, written from scratch, separate from the XMMS codebase...
(Linux/UNIX) - TotemTotem (media player)Totem is a media player for the GNOME computer desktop environment which runs on GNU/Linux, Solaris, BSD and other Unix and Unix-like systems. It is officially included in GNOME starting from version 2.10 , but de facto it was already included in most GNOME environments...
(Linux/UNIX) - Music Player DaemonMusic Player DaemonMusic Player Daemon is a music player server.- Design :MPD simply runs in the background playing music from its playlist. Client programs communicate with MPD to manipulate playback, the playlist, and the database...
(Linux/UNIX) - K-Multimedia PlayerK-Multimedia PlayerK-Multimedia Player is a media player software for Microsoft Windows which can play a large number of formats including VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, Ogg, OGM, 3GP, MPEG-1/2/4, WMV, RealMedia, FLV and QuickTime...
(Windows) - Quintessential PlayerQuintessential PlayerQuintessential Player is a freeware, multi-format media player developed by Paul Quinn.Quintessential Player began life in 1997 as a CD-only player for Windows, when it was known as Quintessential CD Player...
(Windows) - SoniqueSonique (media player)Sonique is an audio player application released as freeware for Microsoft Windows, capable of handling MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Microsoft Windows Media, audio CDs, and more....
(Windows) - MikMod (Linux/UNIX/DOS)
Converters and trackers
- CogCog (software)Cog is an open source audio player for Mac OS X. The basic layout is a single-paned playlist interface with two retractable drawers, one for navigating the user's music folders and another for viewing audio file properties, like bitrate...
(Mac OS X) - AmarokAmarok (audio)Amarok is a cross-platform free and open source music player for KDE, but is released independently of the central KDE Software Compilation release cycle...
(Linux/UNIX) - AudaciousAudacious Media PlayerAudacious is a free software audio player with a focus on low resource usage, high audio quality, and support for a wide range of audio formats. It is designed primarily for use on POSIX-compatible systems such as Linux, with limited support for Microsoft Windows...
(Linux/UNIX) - ModPlug Tracker (Windows)
- Unix Amiga Delitracker Emulator (Linux/UNIX)
- TiMidityTiMidityTiMidity++, originally and still frequently informally called TiMidity, is a software synthesizer that can play MIDI files without a hardware synthesizer...
(Linux/UNIX) - OctaMEDOctaMEDOctaMED is a popular sound tracker for the Commodore Amiga, written by Teijo Kinnunen. The first version, 1.12, was released in 1989 under the name MED, which stands for Music EDitor. In April 1990, version 2.00 was released with MIDI support as the main improvement...
(Amiga)