This academic journal is an in depth study analyzing melodic patterns found in Bach's music, specifically in his counterpoint. The paper may explore the types of melodic patterns Bach used, how they relate to his style, and how they contribute to the overall aesthetic of his music. This source can be used more for my classical music background information, talking about Bach’s counterpoint from the music theory aspect, which is a part of my literature review. 

This chapter from the Oxford Handbook of Interactive Audio is extremely credible and academically reliable. The paper delves into what it means to compose with game sound tools, and there is a specific section about portamentos and the use of limited polyphony to give rise to the signature “chiptune” sound. This in depth analysis of the use of polyphony is extremely relevant to my essay and I can use it as a source to justify the music theory behind the “full orchestral sound” created from the limited chiptune compositional ability. The article talks in detail about the hardware, the “nostalgia”, the chiptune aesthetic, genre, advances in software, etc. I think the most important is the section on composition which has a subsection about nintendo, directly related to my essay topic!

This excerpt from the Journal of Sound and Music in Games available in the University of California press is reliable and highly academic. It essentially goes over the limitations of the 8-bit software, and goes extremely in detail and focuses on the instrumental versatility and compositional techniques that are used. The article goes into the theory of primary, idiosyncratic techniques, such as pulse width modulation, timbral manipulation, virtual polyphony, pin pulse, pulse interleaving, etc. These highly specific compositional techniques are a bridge between the music technology world and classical music theory, which is a really core part of my essay, so this article is extremely useful. However, one limitation may be that it is very hard to understand, due to the countless number of new terms and unfamiliar technological / software heavy techniques. 

This study on music transcription in video games is academically reliable due to it being an .edu source and from a university, however it lacks depth and definitely would only be used as a surface level source, possibly for introducing pokemon music at the beginning of a section. The study includes several different sections, the relevant ones being the introduction to Pokémon music, styles of transcription, and the sections on examples / analysis. Despite the source being about transcription, the way the 8-bit is transcribed into music actually reveals a lot of insight into how the music was composed in the first place but on sheet notation, making it easier to analyze and see influences of theory from classical periods. It also provides specific analysis into select few battle themes and route themes in the game I am focusing my essay on, which will prove to be useful. 

This research report is a university dissertation, under the topic of music technology. The study explores the 8-bit style of music (also known as chiptunes) and its recent resurgence in popularity, due to the new and accessible technology/software, as well as proliferation of communities online. The project investigates modern 8-bit musicians including surveys, interviews, and the author’s own experiences. The article is written in a clear and straightforward format and is in depth, however it is also predominantly journalistic, thus less academically credible. 

This article is a deconstruction of Pokemon 8 Bit music, and explores the composition of the iconic battle music from the original Pokemon video games. Yu analyzes the elements that make up the music, including the melody, harmony, rhythm, and instrumentation. He also examines how the music changes depending on the player's actions during battles. The article includes evidence in both sheet music and audio files, making it a well organized research paper, however it is written in a “blog” format, which decreases the academic reliability. However, because it’s focused on specific pokemon pieces, it is very relevant.