BeepBox is an online tool for sketching and sharing chiptune melodies.
All song data is packaged into the URL at the top of your browser. When you make changes to the song, the URL is updated to reflect your changes. When you are satisfied with your song, just copy and paste the URL to save and share your song!
The latest version of BeepBox is here.
You can add or remove notes by clicking on the gray rows at the top. BeepBox automatically plays the notes out loud for you. Try it!
Notes go into patterns, and you can edit one pattern at a time. Those numbered boxes at the bottom of the editor are the different patterns you can edit. Click the other boxes to move to a different part of the song, or click the arrows on the currently selected box to swap which pattern is played during that part of the song.
BeepBox can play several rows of patterns simultaneously, and each row has its own set of patterns. Most rows can play melodies or harmonies, but the bottom row is for drums.
The purple loop underneath the numbered boxes controls which part of the song is currently repeating. Move the loop to listen to a different part of the song, or drag the ends to expand the loop to include the whole song.
When BeepBox has focus (click on its interface above), you can use these keyboard shortcuts:
In the pattern editor, you can click and drag horizontally on a note to adjust its duration. You can also click above or below an existing note to enable a rapid arpeggio/trill effect, oscillating between two or more simultaneous notes.
ADVANCED: Drag vertically from an existing note to bend its pitch, or drag vertically from above or below the note to adjust its volume.
BeepBox has many more features. Try playing with the buttons and menus on the right side to find out what it can do!
Check out some of these songs that other people have posted on Twitter! If you find something you like, you should let the creator know! And if you see any beginners asking for advice, maybe you can give them a hand!
BeepBox is developed by John Nesky, also known as @shaktool.
BeepBox does not claim ownership over songs created with it, so original songs belong to their authors.
Neither John Nesky nor BeepBox assume responsibility for any copyrighted material played on BeepBox. No songs are ever received, recorded, or distributed by BeepBox's servers. All song data is contained in the URL after the hash (#) mark, and BeepBox running inside your browser converts that data into sound waves.
You can download an offline version of BeepBox to use when you don't have access to the internet. The features are otherwise the same.
You can download and use the source code under the MIT license.