THE ULTIMATE CARD GAME
FOR MUSICIANS
Games
The Transpose deck is a versatile tool for teaching music concepts through competitive card games. The deck ships with instructions for 4 different games, but more games are being designed everyday by Transpose players. Visit our Forum to learn about new games being discussed and check below for the "official" Transpose games.
Out of Tune
Beginner | 2 - 5 Players
Teaches: note identification and enharmonic equivalence
Set up: Shuffle cards and deal each player 5 cards. Place remaining cards in the center (the pit).
Goal: Be the first player to get rid of all cards by matching them with a pair.
Play: Start by placing all pairs (the same note expressed in different ways) in front of you. Then, choose a player to go first and take turns in clockwise order asking each other for cards to complete pairs (You pick 1 player at a time, not the whole group). If the player asked has the card, they must give the card. The player then places the pair they’ve just made in front of them and asks again (doesn’t have to be the same person) until the person they ask does not have the card. That player then responds with “out of tune” and the player who asked must draw a card from the pit. “wild cards” must be played immediately without a pair.
Tonic
Beginner | 2 - 5 players
Teaches: note identification and enharmonic equivalence
Set up: Shuffle cards and deal each player 7 cards. Place the deck in the middle of the players and flip the top card over and place it next to the deck (if this is a “wild card”, flip another).
Goal: Be the first player to get rid of all your cards.
Play: Choose a player to go first and take turns in clockwise order placing cards on top of the upward facing pile. When it’s your turn, you may play a card of the same style (piano, note name, treble clef, or bass clef) or you can change the style of card being played by either playing a “wild card” and stating what you would like to change to, or playing a card of the same note in a different style. If you cannot play a card, draw one from the deck.
Chromatics
Intermediate | 2 players
Teaches: chromatic scale
Set up: Remove the 4 “wild cards” from the deck. Shuffle and deal all of the cards. Each player then creates 5 piles of decreasing sizes face down in front of them (pile of 5, pile of 4, etc.). Place the remaining cards aside, but within reach (this is the player’s deck). Then flip over the top card of each of the 5 piles.
Goal: Be the first player to be left with no cards on the table or in their deck.
Play: When both players are ready, each player will flip a card from their deck and begin trying to place cards from their 5 piles on either center pile in chromatic order (C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, etc.). They may go in ascending or descending order as long as it is always chromatic. Continue this until both players are out of options. Then, when both players are ready, they flip another card from their decks onto the piles and continue to play this way until one player is out of cards. Play then stops and the player that ran out of cards gets to choose one of the piles (without counting the cards) and add it to their deck. The other player takes the remaining pile and adds it to their deck. Reset 5 piles and repeat gameplay until a player runs out of cards. If a player does not have enough cards to complete their 5 piles, complete as many as possible and flip over the top cards as usual. Then, there will only be one pile for the players to play on. The player that wins that round can choose to take no pile and the player that loses takes the remaining pile.
Maestro
Intermediate | 2 players
Teaches: note matching
Set up: Shuffle cards and deal each player 6 face down piles of 4 cards. Place the remaining 4 cards face up in the center of the players.
Goal: Be the first player to make all their piles match.
Play: You can exchange cards from any pile with any card in the center. You may only hold one pile in your hands at a time and you must place the card you’re exchanging on the table before picking up the desired card. “Wild” cards match with other “wild” cards, NOT with any note. Once a player makes all their piles match, they shout “Maestro!” and flip all their piles over revealing their cards. Their opponent checks to make sure all the piles match. If they do, they won. If they don’t, they lose. NOTE: There are no turns in this game, both players are playing at the same time.
ii-V-I
Advanced | 2 players
Teaches: chord construction and identification
Set up: Shuffle cards and deal each player 10 cards. Place the remaining cards (the deck) in the center of the players, flip the top card over and place it next to the deck (discard pile).
Goal: Be the first player to make one minor triad, one dominant 7th chord, and one major triad.
Play: Each player takes turns drawing 1 card and then discarding 1 card. When drawing, you may either draw the top card of the discard pile or the top card of the deck. Then discard a card to the discard pile. Keep all of your cards in your hand. “Wild cards” can act as any note. When a player successfully makes one of each chord, they place their hand down on the table so their opponent can check the chords. If they are correct, they won! If they are incorrect, they lose. NOTE: The chords do not need to be in the same key.