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Datamoshpit — Beginner's Guide

This guide walks you through everything you need to start making music in Datamoshpit, step by step, even if you've never used a tracker before.

For deeper technical references, see COMMANDS.md, NAVIGATION_AND_INPUT.md, SOUND_ENGINES.md, GROOVE_AND_TIMING.md, SLIMENTOLOGIKA_GUIDE.md, and CONTROLLER_SUPPORT.md.

What Is a Tracker?

A tracker is a type of music software that uses a spreadsheet-style grid instead of a piano roll. Notes are entered as text in rows that scroll from top to bottom. Each row is a "step" in time — when the sequencer reaches that row, it plays whatever note or command is there.

Trackers were invented in the late 1980s on the Commodore Amiga. They've been used to create everything from chiptune to breakcore to film scores. Famous trackers include ProTracker, FastTracker II, LSDJ (Game Boy), and LGPT (handheld). Datamoshpit carries that tradition forward into the browser.

If you've used a DAW like Ableton or FL Studio: Think of the tracker grid like a piano roll turned on its side and compressed into text. It looks alien at first, but once it clicks, many people find it faster than clicking notes on a grid.

Your First Boot

  1. Double-click the DATAMOSHPIT icon on the K-OS desktop
  2. You'll see the Phrase screen — this is where you'll spend most of your time
  3. The screen shows a grid with columns: NOTE, INSTR (instrument), and CMD (effect command)
  4. A cursor highlights the current cell — use arrow keys to move it around

The Screen Map

Datamoshpit is organized into screens arranged in a spatial grid. You move between them using Shift + Arrow Keys:

┌─────────┬─────────┬─────────┐
│ PROJECT │  SYNTH  │  WAVE   │
├────┬────┼─────────┼────┬────┤
│SONG│CHAIN│ PHRASE │INST│TABLE│
├────┴────┴─────────┴────┴────┤
│           GROOVE            │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Where to start:

Screen What It's For
PHRASE Where you write note patterns — this is home base
CHAIN Strings phrases together into longer sequences
SONG Arranges chains across 8 channels into a full song
INSTRUMENT Edit how each instrument sounds
TABLE Per-tick automation for detailed sound shaping
GROOVE Controls the timing/swing feel
PROJECT BPM, project settings, save/load

Navigation tip: You can also press F1–F7 to jump directly to a screen, or Escape to go back.

Controls Cheat Sheet

Datamoshpit uses a simple control scheme inspired by Game Boy trackers. You only need a few keys:

CORE CONTROLS
─────────────────────────────────────────────
Arrow Keys          Move cursor
Q + Arrows          Edit value at cursor
                      Q + Right/Up = increase
                      Q + Left/Down = decrease
W                   Place note / confirm
Shift + Arrows      Navigate between screens
Space               Play / Stop
Tab                 Toggle hex / Slimentologika display
Escape              Go back

CLIPBOARD & SELECTION
─────────────────────────────────────────────
Ctrl+C              Copy
Ctrl+V              Paste
Ctrl+X              Cut
Ctrl+Z              Undo

QUICK JUMPS
─────────────────────────────────────────────
F1                  Song screen
F2                  Chain screen
F3                  Phrase screen
F4                  Instrument screen
F5                  Table screen
1-8                 Jump to channel 1-8

Making Your First Beat

Here's a step-by-step walkthrough to get sound coming out:

Step 1: Get to the Phrase Screen

If you're not already there, press F3 or use Shift + Arrows to navigate to the Phrase screen.

Step 2: Enter a Note

  1. Move your cursor to an empty row in the NOTE column
  2. Press W to place a default note (usually C-5)
  3. You should see something like C-5 00 appear — that's note C, octave 5, instrument 00

Step 3: Change the Note

With your cursor on the note:

  • Q + Left/Right changes the note name (C, C#, D, D#, E, F, etc.)
  • Q + Up/Down changes the octave

Step 4: Add More Notes

Move the cursor down a few rows and enter more notes. A simple pattern might look like:

Row 00:  C-5  00  ---
Row 01:  ---  --  ---
Row 02:  ---  --  ---
Row 03:  ---  --  ---
Row 04:  E-5  00  ---
Row 05:  ---  --  ---
Row 06:  ---  --  ---
Row 07:  ---  --  ---
Row 08:  G-5  00  ---
Row 09:  ---  --  ---
Row 10:  ---  --  ---
Row 11:  ---  --  ---
Row 12:  C-6  00  ---
Row 13:  ---  --  ---
Row 14:  ---  --  ---
Row 15:  ---  --  ---

That's a simple C major arpeggio spread across 16 steps.

Step 5: Hit Play

Press Space to hear your phrase play. Press Space again to stop.

Step 6: Experiment

  • Try changing instruments: move to the INSTR column and use Q + Up/Down to pick a different instrument number
  • Try adding effect commands in the CMD column (see the effect commands section below)
  • Navigate to the Instrument screen (F4) to tweak how your instrument sounds

Congratulations — you just wrote music in a tracker.

Understanding the Data Model

Datamoshpit organizes music in a hierarchy. Think of it like building blocks:

SONG (the whole piece)
  └── CHAINS (sections — verse, chorus, etc.)
        └── PHRASES (short patterns — a melody, a drum loop)
              └── TABLES (per-tick automation — vibrato, arpeggios)

Here's what each level does:

Level Size What It Holds
Song 256 rows x 8 channels References to chains. This is the arrangement.
Chain 16 steps References to phrases, with optional transpose per step.
Phrase 2-256 rows (default 16) The actual notes, instruments, and effect commands.
Table 16 rows (loops) Per-tick effects — runs 6x faster than phrases. Great for sound design.

The workflow:

  1. Write phrases (your building blocks — a bass riff, a kick pattern, a melody)
  2. String phrases into chains (combine building blocks into sections)
  3. Arrange chains in the song screen (lay out your full track across 8 channels)

You don't have to use all levels right away. Many people just write phrases and hit play — that's totally valid.

Sound Engines

Datamoshpit has multiple sound engines you can assign to any of its 8 channels:

Engine Description Good For
Pulse Square wave (Game Boy style) Chiptune leads, basses, arpeggios
Wave Wavetable synth with soft-synth features Pads, textures, bass, custom waveforms
Noise Noise generator with dynamic bit-crushing Hi-hats, snares, risers, glitch FX
FM (YM2612) 4-operator FM synthesis (Sega Genesis style) Basses, bells, metallic sounds, complex tones
Sample 16-bit sample playback Drums, vocals, any recorded audio

You can mix and match — run 2 pulse channels + 2 FM channels + a noise channel + 3 sample channels, or any combination that adds up to 8.

Effect Commands Quick Reference

Commands go in the CMD column of the Phrase screen. Each command is a letter followed by a 2-digit hex value.

Most useful commands to learn first:

Cmd Name What It Does Example
C Chord Arpeggio — cycles between notes C37 = minor chord, C47 = major
D Delay Delays the note by N ticks D03 = delay 3 ticks
E Envelope Sets volume/amplitude E08 = set volume to 8
H Hop Jump/loop within a phrase H00 = stop, H08 = jump to row 8
K Kill Cuts the note after N ticks K03 = cut after 3 ticks
L Slide Portamento/glide to next note L03 = slide speed 3
O Output Panning (left/right) OFF = full stereo, OF0 = left only
P Pitch Pitch bend up or down P01 = bend up slow, P81 = bend down slow
T Tempo Change BPM mid-song T80 = set tempo to 128 BPM
V Vibrato Pitch wobble V42 = speed 4, depth 2

Advanced commands:

Cmd Name What It Does
A Table Start/stop a table automation
B MayBe Probability — note only plays sometimes (great for generative music)
G Groove Switch timing groove mid-phrase
R Retrig Retrigger note rapidly (rolls, stutters)
W Wave Change waveform/algorithm
Z Random Randomize the last command's value (controlled chaos)

For the full command reference, see COMMANDS.md.

Groove and Swing

By default, every step in a phrase lasts 6 ticks (straight timing). The Groove screen lets you change this.

What's a groove? It's a repeating pattern of tick counts that determines how long each step lasts.

Straight timing (default):

Step 1: 6 ticks ████████
Step 2: 6 ticks ████████
(repeats)

Swing feel:

Step 1: 8 ticks ██████████
Step 2: 5 ticks ██████
(repeats — even steps feel "late")

Triplet feel:

Step 1: 4 ticks ██████
Step 2: 4 ticks ██████
Step 3: 4 ticks ██████
(repeats — three steps per beat instead of two)

Use the G command in a phrase to switch grooves on the fly. Different channels can run different grooves at the same time. Full timing math: GROOVE_AND_TIMING.md.

Slimentologika (the Weird Symbols)

When you first open Datamoshpit, you might notice unfamiliar symbols instead of regular numbers. That's Slimentologika — a custom base-16 glyph system unique to KOOLSKULL OS.

Don't panic. Press Tab at any time to switch between Slimentologika and standard hex digits. You can compose entirely in hex mode if you prefer.

Slimentologika uses 16 pixel-art glyphs that map directly to hex values 0-F:

Standard hex:  0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  A  B  C  D  E  F
Slimentologika: (16 unique pixel-art glyphs — learn them visually)

Tips for learning Slimentologika:

  • Start by learning just the first four glyphs (0-3)
  • Use Tab to toggle back to hex whenever you're confused
  • Let it happen naturally through repetition — don't force memorization
  • The phrase editor row numbers are the best place to practice, since you see them constantly

For a deep dive into the number system, history, and glyph families, see SLIMENTOLOGIKA_GUIDE.md.

              ☦
     "Make a joyful noise."
        — Psalm 100:1