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About

Write own Oblique Strategies cards using regular playing cards.

• A line has two sides
• A very small object. Its center 
• Abandon desire
• Abandon normal instructions 
• Accept advice 
• Adding on 
• Always give yourself credit for having more than personality 
• Ask people to work against their better judgement 
• Ask your body 
• Balance the consistency principle with the inconsistency principle 
• Be dirty 
• Be extravagant 
• Breathe more deeply 
• Bridges – build – burn 
• Cascades 
• Change ambiguities to specifics 
• Change instrument roles 
• Change nothing and continue consistently 
• Children – speaking – singing 
• Cluster analysis 
• Consider different fading systems 
• Consult other sources – promising – unpromising 
• Convert a melodic element into a rhythmic element 
• Courage! 
• Cut a vital connection 
• Decorate, decorate 
• Destroy nothing; Destroy the most important thing 
• Discard an axiom 
• Disciplined self-indulgence 
• Discover your formulas and abandon them 
• Display your talent 
• Distort time 
• Do nothing for as long as possible 
• Do something boring 
• Do something sudden, destructive and unpredictable 
• Do the last thing first 
• Do the washing up 
• Do the words need changing? 
• Do we need holes? 
• Don't avoid what is easy 
• Emphasize differences 
• Emphasize repetitions 
• Emphasize the flaws 
• Feed the recording back out of the medium 
• Fill every beat with something 
• Find a safe part and use it as an anchor 
• Get your neck massaged 
• Ghost echoes 
• Give the name away 
• Give way to your worst impulse 
• Go outside. Shut the door. 
• Go slowly all the way round the outside 
• How would you have done it? 
• Idiot glee 
• Imagine the piece as a set of disconnected events 
• Infinitesimal gradations 
• Intentions – nobility of – humility of – credibility of 
• Into the impossible 
• Is it finished? 
• Is something missing? 
• Is the intonation correct? 
• It is quite possible (after all) 
• Just carry on 
• Left channel,right channel, center channel 
• Listen to the quiet voice 
• Look at the order in which you do things 
• Lost in useless territory 
• Lowest common denominator 
• Magnify the most difficult details 
• Make a blank valuable by putting it in an exquisite frame 
• Make what's perfect more human 
• Mechanize something idiosyncratic 
• Mute and continue 
• Only one element of each kind 
• Openly resist change 
• (Organic) machinery 
• Put in earplugs 
• Reevaluation (a warm feeling) 
• Remember quiet evenings 
• Remove a restriction 
• Repetition is a form of change 
• Reverse 
• Short circuit (example: a man eating peas with the idea that they will improve his virility shovels them straight into his lap) 
• Simple subtraction 
• Spectrum analysis 
• Take a break 
• Take away the important parts 
• Tape your mouth 
• The inconsistency principle 
• The tape is now the music' 
• Think of the radio 
• Tidy up 
• Trust in the you of now 
• Turn it upside down 
• Twist the spine 
• Use an old idea 
• Use an unacceptable color 
• Use fewer notes 
• Use filters 
• Use your own ideas 
• Water 
• What are the sections sections of? Imagine a caterpillar moving 
• What are you really thinking about just now? 
• What is the reality of the situation? 
• What mistakes did you make last time? 
• What would your closest friend do? 
• Work at a different speed 
• You are an engineer 
• You can only make one dot at a time 
• Your mistake was a hidden intention 
• Don't break the silence 
• Don't stress one thing more than another 
• Use "unqualified" people 
• What wouldn't you do? 
• Try faking it [Stewart Brand] 
• Slow preparation, fast execution 
• Is the style right? 
• Where is the edge? 
• Voice your suspicions 
• What is the simplest solution? 
• Make it more sensual 
• Use something nearby as a model 
• Think – inside the work – outside the work 
• What context would look right? 
• When is it for? 
• What to increase? What to reduce? What to maintain? 
• How would someone else do it? 
• Would anyone want it? 
• Go to an extreme, come part way back 
• Once the search has begun, something will be found 
• Be less critical 
• From nothing to more than nothing 
• Retrace your steps 
• Only a part, not the whole 
• Faced with a choice, do both [Dieter Rot] 
• Always give yourself credit for having more than personality [Arto Lindsay] 
• Revaluation (a warm feeling) 
• Lost in useless territory 
• It is quite possible (after all) 
• Idiot glee 
• Move towards the unimportant 
• It is simply a matter of work 
• Not building a wall; making a brick 
• The most easily forgotten thing is the most important 
• State the problem as clearly as possible 
• Always the first steps 
• Question the heroic 
• Go outside. Shut the door. 
• In total darkness, or in a very large room, very quietly 
• Which parts can be grouped? 
• Change specifics to ambiguities 
• Use cliches 
• Consider transitions

• Abandon desire
• Abandon normal instructions
• Accept advice
• Adding on
• A line has two sides
• Always the first steps
• Ask people to work against their better judgement
• Ask your body
• Be dirty
• Be extravagant
• Be less critical
• Breathe more deeply
• Bridges -build -burn
• Change ambiguities to specifics
• Change nothing and continue consistently
• Change specifics to ambiguities
• Consider transitions
• Courage!
• Cut a vital connection
• Decorate, decorate
• Destroy nothing; Destroy the most important thing
• Discard an axiom
• Disciplined self-indulgence
• Discover your formulas and abandon them
• Display your talent
• Distort time
• Do nothing for as long as possible
• Don’t avoid what is easy
• Don’t break the silence
• Don’t stress one thing more than another
• Do something boring
• Do something sudden, destructive and unpredictable
• Do the last thing first
• Do the words need changing?
• Emphasize differences
• Emphasize the flaws
• Faced with a choice, do both (from Dieter Rot)
• Find a safe part and use it as an anchor
• Give the game away
• Give way to your worst impulse
• Go outside. Shut the door.
• Go to an extreme, come part way back
• How would someone else do it?
• How would you have done it?
• In total darkness, or in a very large room, very quietly
• Is it finished?
• Is something missing?
• Is the style right?
• It is simply a matter or work
• Just carry on
• Listen to the quiet voice
• Look at the order in which you do things
• Magnify the most difficult details
• Make it more sensual
• Make what’s perfect more human
• Move towards the unimportant
• Not building a wall; making a brick
• Once the search has begun, something will be found
• Only a part, not the whole
• Only one element of each kind
• Openly resist change
• Pae White’s non-blank graphic metacard
• Question the heroic
• Remember quiet evenings
• Remove a restriction
• Repetition is a form of change
• Retrace your steps
• Reverse
• Simple Subtraction
• Slow preparation, fast execution
• State the problem as clearly as possible
• Take a break
• Take away the important parts
• The inconsistency principle
• The most easily forgotten thing is the most important
• Think – inside the work -outside the work
• Tidy up
• Try faking it (from Stewart Brand)
• Turn it upside down
• Use an old idea
• Use cliches
• Use filters
• Use something nearby as a model
• Use ‘unqualified’ people
• Use your own ideas
• Voice your suspicions
• Water
• What context would look right?
• What is the simplest solution?
• What mistakes did you make last time?
• What to increase? What to reduce? What to maintain?
• What were you really thinking about just now?
• What wouldn’t you do?
• What would your closest friend do?
• When is it for?
• Where is the edge?
• Which parts can be grouped?
• Work at a different speed
• Would anyone want it?
• Your mistake was a hidden intention
• Use fewer notes
• Use filters
• Use ‘unqualified’ people
• Water
• What are you really thinking about just now? Incorporate
• What is the reality of the situation?
• What mistakes did you make last time?
• What would your closest friend do?
• What wouldn’t you do?
• Work at a different speed
• You are an engineer
• You can only make one dot at a time
• You don’t have to be ashamed of using your own ideas