ComposerDeck
Launch App
NEW · Malus Mode is live — read the launch piece on the blog →
12 387 composers · 4 200 daily draws

The daily creative
constraint engine
for music producers.

Pull cards. Accept the brief. Ship a sketch — daily. ComposerDeck turns the blank canvas into a deck of constraints that gets you composing in under 90 seconds.

↳ Pull your first cards
★★★★★ 4.92 — from 1 240 composers
DRAW · 04 / 05 · 26 ● REC
#01
CHORD
Cm9
#02
MODE
Dorian
#01
MALUS
No chorus
TEMPO
MODE
MALUS
LOCK
● BUFFER OK · 47ms STREAK · 28 days SUBMISSION · ready
🎲 LIVE · 04 cards · 90s
◤ Will be featured in
Pitchfork Resident Advisor Sound on Sound MusicTech Future Music Tape Op
◤ HOW IT WORKS · 03 STEPS

From blank canvas to finished sketch in 90 minutes.

Three steps. Repeat daily. Watch your output and your craft compound at the same time.

01 ⌘ + D

Pull your cards

Tap DRAW. Pull 1–5 cards across chords, scales, instruments, tempo, and malus rules. Re-roll any card you hate, lock the ones you love.

02 90:00

Accept the brief

A 90-minute timer starts. Your DAW or notebook is the only other tool you need. The constraints are non-negotiable — that's the whole point.

03 ↑ 4.2 MB

Submit your sketch

Drag-drop a WAV/MP3 to your draw. Public or private. Your streak ticks up. Other composers hear how you handled the same brief.

◤ ANATOMY · ONE CARD

Every card is a one-line prompt + a deeper rabbit hole.

Pull a card and you get a clear instruction in two seconds. Tap it and you get a mini lesson — the theory behind the prompt, the artists who used it, and three concrete suggestions for how to start. No music degree required.

1. TYPE TAG
Color-coded category — chord, mode, instrument, tempo, malus.
2. HEADLINE
Two words you can act on. The whole brief in one breath.
3. DESCRIPTION
Two sentences of theory + practical guidance.
4. LOCK + RE-ROLL
Lock to keep, re-roll to swap. Cards survive shuffles.
#02
MODE
Dorian
#01
CHORD
Cm9 Dorian
Compose using a minor 9th in Dorian mode. Bright but melancholic — staple of modal jazz.
#01
MALUS
No chorus
Through-composed only.
◤ THE DECK · 4 200 CARDS · 9 CATEGORIES

Nine categories.
Millions of combinations.

Every card is hand-written by working musicians. We don't generate, we curate. New cards added every Monday. Your daily draw is never the same twice.

CHORDS 612 cards

Triads, 7ths, 9ths, slash, sus, polychords. Roman numerals included.

MODES & SCALES 184 cards

Major, modal, jazz, exotic, micro-tonal, octatonic, whole-tone.

TEMPO & METER 96 cards

BPM ranges, odd meters, polyrhythms, polymeter, swing percentages.

INSTRUMENTS 780 cards

Acoustic, electronic, ethnic, found sounds, vocal techniques, prepared piano.

PRODUCTION 520 cards

Compression, sidechain, parallel routing, reverbs, mid-side, saturation.

MOOD & TEXTURE 320 cards

Density, register, dynamics, gestural shapes, atmospheric prompts.

FORM & STRUCTURE 240 cards

Verse-chorus, AABA, through-composed, rondo, theme & variations.

MALUS RULES 380 cards

Hard constraints. The rules you don't want, but need.

CHALLENGES 168 cards

Multi-card briefs. Whole sessions in a single draw. Time-boxed.

◤ THE ALTERNATIVES

What ComposerDeck isn't.

We're not an AI generator, a sample pack, or a music theory app. Here's where we sit.

Daily creative habit
You compose, not the AI
Constraint-driven briefs
Public submission slot
Streak / accountability
Free forever
Works with any DAW
◤ COMING SOON · LIVE FROM THE COMMUNITY

Hear what other
composers shipped today.

First submissions land soon — we're onboarding our earliest composers. Check back in a few days.

◆ Launching soon
◤ Coming soon — first composers shipping any day now
@kalliope
SUBMISSION · 2h ago
♥ 42
A field beneath cedars
1:42
Cm9 Dorian No chorus
@vagueson
SUBMISSION · 4h ago
♥ 31
Untitled #017
2:08
142 BPM Sidechain Reverse theme
@noctilune
SUBMISSION · 7h ago
♥ 88
A minor study, in glass
3:14
7/8 String quartet Lo-fi
◤ COMPOSERS · 12 387 ACTIVE

What composers say after 30 days.

★★★★★
"Three months in, I've shipped more sketches than the last three years combined. The malus cards alone changed how I write."
Marie Lefèvre
PRODUCER · PARIS
★★★★★
"I came for the chord cards. I stayed for the daily streak. Pulling cards before coffee is now a non-negotiable."
Jonas Brendel
COMPOSER · BERLIN
★★★★★
"My students use it as a warm-up exercise. They've gone from 'I have no ideas' to 'I have too many.'"
Camille Roux
TEACHER · LYON
★★★★★
"The submission slot keeps me honest. No more sketches dying in folders called 'ideas'."
Andrei Volkov
SOUND DESIGN · BERLIN
★★★★★
"It's the only music app I have notifications enabled for. The morning push says 'your deck is shuffled' and I get up."
Yuki Sato
COMPOSER · TOKYO
◤ FROM THE JOURNAL

Field notes on craft.

All articles
◤ COMMON QUESTIONS

Quick answers.

01 Is ComposerDeck free? +

Yes — fully free for daily draws, profile, submissions and the blog. We may launch a Pro tier later for custom decks, but the core practice always stays free.

02 Do I need music theory? +

No. About 30% of users are total beginners. Cards are the brief, not an exam. Swap any card you don't understand.

03 Can I use it with my DAW? +

Yes. We're tool-agnostic. Logic, Ableton, FL Studio, Bitwig, Reaper, paper — whatever you compose with.

04 Will you add AI generation? +

No. We help you compose, we don't compose for you. That's a feature, not a missing one.

More in the full FAQ →
◤ THE DECK IS WAITING

Pull your first
three cards.

Free forever. No credit card. Daily streak starts the moment you draw.

⚡ AVG. TIME TO 1ST DRAW · 14 SECONDS