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ProTrackR

ProTracker is music sequencer software from the 1990s on the Commodore Amiga (see screenshot of version 2.3a on the right). This R package is designed to read, process and play ProTracker module audio files.

Installation

Get CRAN version

install.packages("ProTrackR")

Get development version from R-Universe

install.packages("ProTrackR", repos = c('https://pepijn-devries.r-universe.dev', 'https://cloud.r-project.org'))

Usage

The package comes bundled with a tiny chiptune, which can easily be played like so:

library(ProTrackR) |>
  suppressMessages()
data("mod.intro")

playMod(mod.intro, verbose = FALSE)

There are plethora of module files available on-line as well. Below you can see how you can download such a file. It also show how you can select an audio sample (number 25) from the module and calculate its power spectrum:

elekfunk <- read.module("https://api.modarchive.org/downloads.php?moduleid=41529#elektric_funk.mod")

spec <- elekfunk |>
  PTSample(25) |>
  waveform() |>
  tuneR::powspec(wintime = 0.1, steptime = 0.001)

image(log10(spec), col = hcl.colors(100, palette = "Inferno"))

While we are at it, why not play it:

playMod(elekfunk, verbose = FALSE)

Developmental status

It has been a decade since the initial release of this package. Since it’s release a lot has changed in R and in my skill set. I still have plans for this package, but this requires drastic changes. Therefore, I will only apply minimal maintenance to this package. Meanwhile I will work on a complete overhaul which will be released in due time as a new package. This new package will:

• have the same or similar features as the current package.
• will implement modern R features and try to adhere to tidyverse principles.
• implement rendering procedures in C++ giving the package a speed boost.

But until then, please enjoy the current package as is.

Further reading

For some further reading and inspiration please have a look at the following blog articles:

• Chiptunes in R (1)
• Chiptunes in R (2)
• Chiptunes in R (3)

These binaries (installable software) and packages are in development.
They may not be fully stable and should be used with caution. We make no claims about them.
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