You are welcome to disagree with any of these guidelines but it might be cool to talk about it first. Use one of the links in the top of the web site. If you're on Facebook, I recommend using the group there.
All tags described below are used even if only one of several sub tunes apply. For example, if there are a total of eight sub tunes but only one of them uses digi and another 2x multispeed, both Digi and 2x tags are applied.
Always be careful when adding actual genre tags. Even if a composer used a genre word in the filename, it may still be wrong. This is especially common with funk or jazz words. If you are in doubt about a genre for a tune, perhaps it's best to just forget it for now and move on.
Comments about certain genre tags:
| Genre | Comments |
|---|---|
| Funk | Be careful – it may not be what the composer thinks it is! |
| Jazz | Same as the above |
| Jazz-Funk | Think Mezzoforte |
The ? tag means that one or more of the other tags applied to this tune is ambiguous or uncertain. If someone who knows more could clear up this conundrum, that'd be great.
When the three voices of the SID chip are not all used as default.
There are moments in the SID tune where chords are created across all three voices, usually with the same type of instrument. Laxity made a few that starts this way, but it can also come later in a song.
The $71 waveform is mix of several other waveforms and is rarely used. This tag is used when one or more channels in the song has been used exclusively for this waveform, not just in something like a wave table step.
Indicates the multispeed multiplier used by the tune.
Either the tune itself is such a file (residing in the exotic folder) or you are looking at a file in HVSC that, by having this tag attached, indicates that such a file exists in the exotic folder.
The tune has one or more bugs – usually acknowledged by HVSC in a STIL comment. It can be e.g. notes playing out of tune. Be careful with this tag. Maybe the composer wanted the tune to sound like that.
Two or more persons collaborated. One made the instruments and the other the music, or each made a part of the tune, etc. Anything goes.
The tune was made after the composer took a very long break of several years, maybe even decades.
The tune took part in a music competition. Additional production tags are allowed.
This SID tune has been converted from a different format or device, e.g. an arcade game, a console, or a different home computer. A secondary tag is usually included to specify the origin.
If the SID tune is a remake or a remix of another SID tune, the Remake or Remix tags should be
used instead.
If the SID tune is a cover of a REAL song, the Cover tag should be used instead.
Here's a list of the secondary conversion tags used so far:
| Tag | Comments |
|---|---|
| AdLib | From AdLib (or Sound Blaster) on PC (don't add PC tag too) |
| Amiga | From the Amiga (unknown format or a game) |
| Arcade | From an arcade game |
| Atari 2600 | From the Atari 2600 (TIA) |
| Atari ST | From the Atari ST |
| AY | A sound chip used in many old home computers |
| C16 / +4 | From the Commodore 16 or Commodore Plus/4 |
| Console | From a console (use if rare or exotic) |
| GB | From a Game Boy (generalized) |
| GBA | From the Game Boy Advance |
| IT | From Impulse Tracker on PC (don't add PC tag too) |
| MOD | From an Amiga MOD (don't add Amiga tag too) |
| NES | From the Nintendo Entertainment System |
| PC | From a production on PC (typically a demo) |
| PC Game | From music originally used in a PC game |
| Pinball | From a pinball machine |
| Pokey | An I/O chip used in e.g. Atari 400/800 computers |
| PS | From a PlayStation console |
| S3M | From ScreamTracker 3 on PC (don't add PC tag too) |
| Sega | From a Sega console (may need to be revised later) |
| Spectrum | From the ZX Spectrum (sometimes accompanied by the AY tag too) |
| SNES | From the Super Nintendo / Famicom |
| XM | From FastTracker 2 on PC (don't add PC tag too) |
More conversion tags may have been created since the above list was last updated.
The SID tune is a cover of a REAL song. A secondary genre tag is usually not added.
If the SID tune is a remake or a remix of another SID tune, the Remake or Remix tags should be
used instead.
If the SID tune was converted from another format or device, the Conversion tag should
be used instead.
The tune was used in one or more crack intros. Additional production tags are allowed. Note that standalone or "demo-style" intros (e.g. as used in competitions) usually receive the smaller Intro tag instead.
The tune was written for a demo (or variants – see below) and subsequently used in it. Additional production tags are allowed.
You read that right – music collections never get a tag. Many composers have several music collection productions but as a tag indicating this, it's not really that valuable – and it tends to overpopulate folders like a virus.
Previously standalone or "demo-style" intros also received this tag, but it was later changed so they receive a proper Intro tag instead. (For cracks, use the Crack Intro tag.)
The tune was written for a disk magazine and subsequently used in it. Additional production tags are allowed.
A "fits all" description of almost anything digi. If the digi is just standard 4-bit $D418 used as one or more assisting channels, a second tag should not be used.
Note that a Cover tag should never be used for real songs turned into digi.
If you can see in the memo view that the Digi-Organizer was used to add digi to a music player that normally doesn't support digi, use the Digi-Org tag alone (i.e. don't also use the Digi tag). (However, note that it's possible to use this tool by itself without any SID voices, and in that case a second Samples tag still applies.)
When a second tag may be used to narrow down the Digi tag:
Please don't be too eager to just slap on a Digi tag if it's a SoundMonitor spin-off with digi tracks added (such as the many RockMon editors). Although admittedly rare, I have found a few tunes in HVSC that was made in RockMon yet never used any digi samples at all. My guess is that the composer forgot about the digi track or maybe even didn't know what it was for. Such tunes should not receive the tag. Better listen to all of it first to be sure.
One or more voices has been copied to play the exact same notes on top of each other. This is usually a lazy editing technique that just makes everything louder. It is mostly a derogatory tag, serving as a warning.
If the notes across voices have been detuned to create a nice "fat" effect then use the Flanging tag instead.
This tag was previously named Boost but later renamed to this which is more apt.
The tune has subsequently been edited to improve or change it.
Deprecated. Use the above Edit tag instead.
The tune begins by fading in. All methods are fine, i.e. main volume or using ADSR.
The tune ends by fading out. Although using ADSR is not strictly discarded, the tag mostly refers to fading out using the main volume register. If ADSR is used, it should simulate the same effect.
The tune is really fast paced. This is not tied to any specific genre.
Usually indicates the very first tune the composer ever made, but may also sometimes be used for the first release (like a game) that the composer was involved with, especially if there are no other tunes available before that time.
The tune uses the effect of two identical notes where one has been slightly detuned to create a "fat" effect.
This does not apply to lazy copying that just makes the whole thing louder. If that is what the tune is doing then you should use the Doubling tag instead.
The tune emulates a true ring modulation or hard synchronization relationship for musical notes.
The tune (or file) was written for a C64 game and subsequently used in it. Also applies to 4K games. Additional production tags are allowed.
The tune makes use of a digi channel to recreate a delayed SID channel in real time, thereby adding an echo effect. This was a technique devised by Geir Tjelta.
This tag was previously just named Echo but later renamed to this in order to avoid confusion.
This is somewhat derogatory tag and is usually always added together with the Edit tag. It indicates that the tune was originally made by someone else, then copied and edited to change or add something. A typical example is when someone merely added an extra digi track on top of a tune that wasn't originally designed to have one.
The tune is really happy and uplifting. This is not tied to any specific genre.
Although the tune may not be interactive in DeepSID, it might have been part of a production where the user could change the song in real time.
The tune was used in a "demo-style" or otherwise standalone intro. Additional production tags are allowed. If it is an intro meant for cracks (whether utilized or not) it should receive the Crack Intro tag instead.
The file contains one or more jingles. A jingle stops at one point – usually after less than half a minute, but may be longer. Additional meta tags are allowed.
If the tune is short but restarts over and over, it should probably use a Loop tag instead. However, sometimes a jingle that restarts may actually still be a jingle – it might just be the player that either doesn't support stopping, or the composer didn't know how to add it. If there's a good closure to the jingle and maybe even a short pause before it restarts, it should probably still use a Jingle tag.
The file contains one or more short pieces (typically less than ~30 seconds) that loops around. There is no pause or closure when it wraps around. Additional meta tags are allowed.
The length of ~30 seconds is more of a suggestion, but the tag should primarily be used for such short loops to make it really valuable for searching. Don't add it to a wrapping tune if it's several minutes long.
The tune is gloomy, maybe even sad and depressing. This is not tied to any specific genre.
The tune is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. The tag can be used for any type of medley combination of covers, remakes and conversions.
This SID tune was composed with MIDI software.
The tune uses a nonstandard time signature other than 4/4.
This tag is useful for tunes that doesn't use digi at all even though they were composed in an editor that is normally designed for this purpose (e.g. one of the many RockMon editors).
Not adding a Digi tag at all might sound like a better solution, but adding a No Digi tag may prevent other users from adding the former tag just by spotting the name of the player used.
The tune only uses the specified waveform, with no exceptions. The Only $11 tag (for the triangle waveform) is more common because there has once been a competition based around this.
This is not a genre tag. It indicates when two or more channels are combined in a specific way that emulates an organ sound. One of the best examples can be found in a level tune of Ghouls 'n' Ghosts by Tim Follin.
Sometimes the tag can also be added to songs that also demonstrate organ sounds produced by single channels, but they would have to be convincing.
This is not a genre tag. Instead, it indicates a specific use of modulations that may create a SID instrument that sounds a little bit like a pan flute.
This tag was created by Roman Chlebec (CreaMD).
The SID tune may have been inspired by (or have "borrowed from") something else. This can be anything – another SID tune, a real song, a tune on a different format/device, or maybe even a recognizable style used as a trademark by another composer that has been deliberately mimicked.
This can be a vague tag as it sort of indicates that the tune mimicks playing on the piano. It can be a tune that was composed for the piano (maybe indicated by a cover) or the composer tried hard to create a piano instrument. It can also be a good hint that the piano bit uses a polyphonic exchange of notes across two or three voices.
The tune uses a player that does not change SID registers in real time, e.g. vibrato, filter sweeping, etc. However, it is allowed to change SID registers on a note-by-note basis, for example by having an intro with one setup of ADSR and waveforms and then change all these for the chorus.
In other words, the tune is allowed to change anything it wants, just not during the lifetime of a note.
This tag is most useful for players that doesn't immediately indicate their quality, especially if it is an unidentified player. It is less useful for players like e.g. Master Composer that is known to have such limitations.
That being said, the tag should also be used for tunes that qualifies by using simple notes even though they were actually composed in a modern editor that could have delivered.
The tune is a remake of another SID tune. If the tune was remixed or changed to a certain degree, you should consider replacing it with the Remix tag instead.
If the SID tune is a cover of a REAL song, the Cover tag should be used instead.
If the SID tune
was converted from another format or device, the Conversion tag should be used instead.
The tune is based on a Cover, a Remake or a Conversion – but has also been remixed with new material.
This is usually added to complement Cover or Conversion tags, while a Remake tag is usually replaced by it.
The tune has one or more remixes at Remix64.com. Clicking this tune should show entries in the Remix tab.
The tune plays a melody in two or three voices with notes slightly displaced to create a reverb/echo effect.
The file contains one or more sound effects. Digi sound effects are allowed too.
The tune is a jingle or a loop that is shorter than 10 seconds.
This tag should only be applied to files with just one tune in it. Files with several game sub tunes would be too easy a target as you already expect them to have very short jingles and such.
The tune has a solo with a lead instrument.
The tune tries to emulate speech or singing, typically by using advanced modulation techniques.
Digi is not involved in any way (including the OSC technique). It also doesn't apply to speech digi as used by e.g. sub tunes in Tales of the Arabian Nights.
The player and its data (all of it) takes up very little memory (less than 512 bytes).
The tune is not final. All tunes in Worktunes folders automatically obtain this tag, but there may also be stragglers in main folders that may get this tag.
Make sure it's really unfinished, e.g. either you're the composer and know it's not done, or the composer mentioned in a CSDb comment that they don't consider the tune to be finished.