Draw a card, write a song.
THE TROUBADECK is a songwriter’s deck of cards from award-winning composer & game designer Charlie McCarron.
Whether it’s your first or 1,000th song, each of the 54 cards will offer a unique chord template as a starting point. Say goodbye to writer’s block!
Follow our Kickstarter
Our previous Kickstarter funded in just 3 hours! Get in early for the limited custom art reward.
“I have used them in my theory classes both at MIT and Berklee and the students love them!”
“I think the Troubadeck is a great way to develop song ideas. I don’t have to worry about the chord progression anymore, I just come up with the melody and lyrics.”
“With each chord progression being an inspiration point, I was able to pull something together quickly in GarageBand and get to improvising lyrics right away.”
“It’s really fun, and I think that it’s really good for piano practice too…I can learn inversions in a more organic way.”
“I’ve had a lot of fun bringing out different cards for part-writing; the students always get a laugh out of the title and trying to figure out how to make things sound like the descriptor.”
52 Weeks, 52 Cards, 52 Songs
We’re hosting a weekly songwriting challenge this year: 52 Weeks, 52 Cards, 52 Songs. Charlie draws a random card from the deck each Thursday. Jump in anytime and see what you can make with these chords:
Week 40
You can hear this chord progression on our Play page.
Join our Discord server to share your results with the friendly group of musicians trying out this challenge.
Try it out in our FREE web player!
FAQ
How do I get the Troubadeck cards?
Follow our Kickstarter (click “Notify me on launch”) to be alerted when it launches in late 2026.
What if I can’t play chords?
Try our free web player, which includes 500+ accompaniment tracks.
What’s next for the Troubadeck?
The next Kickstarter will be for a lyrics inspiration deck + a reprint of the chords inspiration deck.
Charlie has lots of other ideas for music games and expansions of the Troubadeck. Please fill out our survey if you have ideas or requests for how he should expand the Troubadeck in the future!
Meet the creator
Charlie McCarron is a music composer, visual artist, and game designer. He’s passionate about supporting other artists and creating opportunities for new people to learn a creative skill!
He runs Film Score Fest, an organization that pairs filmmakers with composers to premiere new short films with a live orchestra.
He has hosted 3 podcasts: Composer Quest, Charlie’s Music Production Lessons, and The Tabletop Takeaway
He is the designer behind many board games, including Ringyō, Four Humours, Surplus of Sloths, Mind Sweeper, Skyrockets, Alphabet Stoop, Lunar Skyline, and Guesswork.
He taught game design at UW-Stout.
He works as Game Design Manager at asmodee, developing projects for Z-Man Games, Office Dog, and Unexpected Games.
Visit Charlie’s website to get in touch.
Charlie McCarron
