Oracle Deck Organization Structure:

The 48 card deck has 3 different suits:

• 24 Sound Cards
• 12 Tech Cards
• 12 Theory Cards

Ideally, every aspect of music production can be represented by a card. Really? Every aspect? Yes well, I have a number a wild cards in the deck that can be used as catch alls for anything. I'll talk about those later. Lets look at the sound cards first

Art Notes

The 12 percussion cards were designed by Salt N' Sulfur, a pixel artist.

Misc Percs

These are the first catch all cards. If a percussion sound didn't fit into the first 8 cards, it can be categorized by its material.

About the Drumskin card

• I chose the name drumskin instead of animal, since a lot drums use synthetic skins now (bongos, kongas).
• Non skin based animal percussion instruments, like goat hooves will find a home in this card, due to the animal relation. But these instances are so rare, that drumskin is a more useful term than "animal" or "creature".

String

• The Strings can also be used as a catch all for any string. Orchestra, zithers, dulcimers.
• Aco guitar also works as a catch all for other types of acoustic plucked string, e.g. mandolin. Harpsichord could fit here, or under electric piano. If you find room for the system to be flexible, flex. The oracle deck has enough order already.

Keys notes

Wait, isn't organ a wind? Ah whatever, like I said, any subcategorization within the sound suit shouldn't be stressed over.

Misc Non Percussion

These have there own reasons for being in a misc category. Bass could be string, or electronic. Synth could be keys, but it could also be modular. And the Noise / SFX card is the most misc card in the deck, so it belongs in this sub category.

Tech

These cards are editing actions you can take. The catch all card in this suit is processing. Any sort of plugin-effect can be considered a processer. They are somewhat ninja themed, as I've heard the term editing ninja before.

Basic

Arrange is the simplest. Just moving things around. Separate and Join are inspired by alchemy's Solve et Coagula.

Continuous

• These deal with sweeping across a continuous range of values. Dial is a catch all card for any type of sweepable setting. Volume, Pan, Send, etc.
• Frequency deals with EQ, pitch shifting.
• Time deals with tempo changes, time-stretching, spin-downs etc.

Logic

• Switch: Instead of sweeping through a continuum, switch deals with state changes.

Data

These are inspired by the 4 fundamental operations of databases. C.R.U.D.

• Create
• Read
• Update
• Destroy

Theory

• These 12 cards handle the mental aspect of production.
• When arranged in a 3x4 grid it creates a picture of a wishing well.
• Cards in the same column feel a bit similar to each other.
• Cards opposite each other in the same row complement each other.

• Unknown
  • Catch all for anything you don't understand.
  • Defining something as unknown lets you move on to the next thing, if you're getting stuck on something.
• Perspective
  • All these theory cards are perspectives, so here's a catch all card for any other perspectives you'd like to work with.
• Unmixed
  • The chaotic state of everything, seen through a lens of an in-progress mix. Sometimes you don't have the best recordings, but you still have to bring the mix to its highest potential.
• Environment
  • Room acoustics
  • Social environment of the target audience and their musical expectations
  • Your current situation
• System
  • Insert a good system definition here.
• Exchange
  • Evaluating cost and reward.
• Module
  • A complete self contained creation, designed with the intention of combining with other modules.
  • I believe creating these building blocks is the aim of creativity.
• Self Similar
  • Songs must be familiar. Everything is in reference to something else.
  • Making something new, be aware of its relationship to the whole.
  • Nature is self similar
• Necessity
  • Sometimes you gotta do things cause you have to.
• Odds
  • You can control the odds easier than controlling a situation.
• Heart
  • The main core idea of something
• Fate
  • The causal flow. Cause and effect.
  • Mysterious synchronicities

TODO

• Improve theory card explainations
• Deck overall explaination