The Catfish Catalyst

A random starting point for songwriting.

1. Base Tempo

First calculate the base tempo for the song. Roll two dice and total them:

  • 2
    70 BPM
  • 3
    80 BPM
  • 4
    90 BPM
  • 5
    100 BPM
  • 6
    110 BPM
  • 7
    120 BPM
  • 8
    130 BPM
  • 9
    140 BPM
  • 10
    150 BPM
  • 11
    160 BPM
  • 12
    170 BPM

2. Refine Tempo

Now refine the tempo by rolling a single die and adjusting like so:

  • 1
    leave base tempo unchanged
  • 2
    add 2 to base tempo
  • 3
    add 8 to base tempo
  • 4
    add 4 to base tempo
  • 5
    add 5 to base tempo
  • 6
    add 6 to base tempo


This will leave us with a BPM somewhere between 70 and 178.

3. Key Signature

For the key signature, again roll two dice and total them:

  • 2
    Ab major (F minor)
  • 3
    C# major (Bb minor)
  • 4
    F major (D minor)
  • 5
    D major (B minor)
  • 6
    G major (E minor)
  • 7
    C major (A minor)
  • 8
    A major (F# minor)
  • 9
    E major (C# minor)
  • 10
    B major (Ab minor)
  • 11
    F# major (D# minor)
  • 12
    Bb major (G minor)

4. Song Title

You can either assign a title straight away or wait until you are ready to start writing lyrics. Pick 10 or so tiles from a standard Scrabble tile set. Make a word from the drawn tiles which will form the song title (or part of the song title).