What makes the NES triangle wave distinctive is its stepwise nature, which creates 31st and 33rd harmonics. For example, the lowest note the triangle wave channel can play is also the lowest A on an 88-key piano, or 27.5 Hz. But because of its 16-level, 32-step, sample-and-hold waveform (FEDCBA98765432100123456789ABCDEF), there are prominent harmonics at 852.5 Hz and 907.5. This creates a net effect of a pitch 32 times the fundamental frequency, and log[2](32) = 5, this sounds five octaves up.
The following piece was composed in FamiTracker and is best heard through dinky little laptop speakers that filter out the triangle's fundamental.
The following piece was composed in FamiTracker and is best heard through dinky little laptop speakers that filter out the triangle's fundamental.