Pulse Pulse Wave Noise
(Solution)
by Brian Mazzaferri and Robyn Speer
This puzzle is a chiptune in 16 pieces, designed by Brian Mazzaferri, leader of the chiptune-rock band I Fight Dragons. Thanks, Brian!
You need to overlap the tracks starting at the right moments of time so that they form a coherent tune. Useful checks:
- The main theme of the tune repeats twice.
- The percussion forms a regular rhythm.
- This is an authentic Game Boy-style chiptune, so it can have at most four simultaneous sounds, at most three of which are pitched notes.
![](solution.png)
These are the offsets needed for each track, measured in multiples of 0.1875 seconds:
- 1: +46
- 2: +27
- 3: +58
- 4: +1
- 5: +1
- 6: +56
- 7: +11
- 8: +55
- 9: +51
- 10: +0
- 11: +6
- 12: +43
- 13: +21
- 14: +35
- 15: +0
- 16: +25
Here is what the tune sounds like.
When you put the music together correctly, the interlude between the two halves consists of:
- The "you found a secret!" tune from Legend of Zelda games:
- Track 4: G5
- Track 9: F#5
- Track 16: D#5
- Track 8: A4
- Track 3: G#4
- Track 12: E5
- Track 7: G#5
- Track 15: C6
- Eight other random-sounding notes in a different instrument:
- Track 13: A4
- Track 1: G4
- Track 6: E3
- Track 2: F3
- Track 10: D5
- Track 5: A2
- Track 11: F4
- Track 14: E3
The non-Zelda notes are all naturals (white keys on a piano), and fall within a span of 26 scale steps. Let the lowest note be A (it really is an A) and it spells the answer ONE FRAME.