Flipspark
A deck of creative prompt cards for music producers, in your pocket.
Hit a wall?
You fire up the studio. Blank project, no idea where to start, and an overwhelming number of options in front of you. Or you're mid session and you've hit a wall.
Flipspark is a deck of creative prompt cards for music producers. Draw and combine cards to find unexpected combinations of your own gear and techniques. There are no rules, only constraints that point you somewhere new.
Core Drums
The foundation of your drums with your down-beat (kick), back-beat (clap/snare) and off-beat (hat).
Bass
The low frequency driving energy of your song.
Retro Kit
Use an iconic retro electronic drum machine.
Arpeggiated
Arpeggiate a melody manually or use an arpeggiator generator.
Reverb It
Add space to it with heavy reverb.
Lead
The instrumental and memorable main melody of your song.
Live Instrument
Record a live melodic instrument or use an existing live recording.
Half Time
Remove, alternate, or layer percussion sounds for a half time speed effect.
Vocals
Lyrics, ornamental phrases, or processed vocal samples.
Sample It
Sample or copy a drum loop or sound from an existing piece of music.
Glitch It
Use a glitch/warp/looping effect or apply glitchy modulation to the instrument or FX.
Simple 8ths
Write a simple 8th note rhythm for one drum part.
Harmonic FX
Occasional supporting sound FX with musical character that adds variety to your harmony.
Hidden Gem
Try a rarely used melodic instrument in your library.
Core Drums
The foundation of your drums with your down-beat (kick), back-beat (clap/snare) and off-beat (hat).
Bass
The low frequency driving energy of your song.
Retro Kit
Use an iconic retro electronic drum machine.
Arpeggiated
Arpeggiate a melody manually or use an arpeggiator generator.
Reverb It
Add space to it with heavy reverb.
Lead
The instrumental and memorable main melody of your song.
Live Instrument
Record a live melodic instrument or use an existing live recording.
Half Time
Remove, alternate, or layer percussion sounds for a half time speed effect.
Vocals
Lyrics, ornamental phrases, or processed vocal samples.
Sample It
Sample or copy a drum loop or sound from an existing piece of music.
Glitch It
Use a glitch/warp/looping effect or apply glitchy modulation to the instrument or FX.
Simple 8ths
Write a simple 8th note rhythm for one drum part.
Harmonic FX
Occasional supporting sound FX with musical character that adds variety to your harmony.
Hidden Gem
Try a rarely used melodic instrument in your library.
Shuffle a whole track brief in seconds
Element, Instrument, Pattern, Effects. One pull deals a full brief. Nearly 50,000 combinations between you and your signature sound.
Stuck on one part? Draw just what you need
Draw from a single suit when you only need one idea, and reroll any card until the combination clicks.
Learn new techniques every time you play
Tap any card to flip it over. On the back is a worked example: how to actually pull the idea off, what to listen for, and what to do when it isn't sitting right.
A fresh spark every day
The home screen widget deals a new prompt every morning. Take the daily card as the day's challenge, or just let it nag you into opening the studio.
Add your own prompts
Write your own prompts into any suit and they shuffle in with the rest of the deck. The deck grows toward the way you actually work.
And when the whole thing needs a push
The fifth suit is different. Inspire holds 82 wild-card questions that fit any creative work, music or not. Draw one and follow it somewhere unexpected.
