Early computer sound Sound Chips chips had only simple tone and noise generators with few channels, imposing limitations on both the complexity of the doggerel they could greengrocery and the prime of notes that could be played at once. In their covetousness to create a greater complex arrangement than what the medium apparently allowed, composers developed creative approaches when developing their own electronic like sounds and scores, employing a diversity of both methods of total synthesis, such as pulse width modulation and wavetable synthesis, and compositional techniques, such as a liberal account of arpeggiation. The resultant chiptunes sometimes seem harsh or squeaky to the unaccustomed listener.

Modern computers can opera a variety of chiptune formats through the benefit of emulators and platform-specific plugins for media players. Depending on the nature of hardware being emulated, 100% accuracy in software may not be available. The commonly absorbed MOS Technology SID chip, for example, has a multi-mode filter including analog circuits whose characteristics are only mathematically estimated in emulation libraries.