60 rules

Song Shuffle Drawing Challenge: One Rule, One Song

Put your music on shuffle, press the button for a rule, and draw whatever song comes next.

Show all 60

Draw the animal that would sing this songDecide its size first. Give it a stage before the song ends.

Next step Design a character to draw

All 60 rules

From the title 12

Draw only the first word of the title One word, one picture. Commit before the singing starts.
Draw the opposite of the title Work out the opposite in the first ten seconds. Then draw until the music stops.
Draw the title as a dish on a menu Decide sweet or savoury first. Plate it up before the song ends.
Draw the title as a flag Pick two shapes that stand for it. Stop when the song fades.
Draw the title as a job somebody could have Choose the uniform first. Add one tool of the trade before the end.
Draw the title as a shop sign Decide what the shop sells before the first note. Add the door if there is time.
Draw the title as a street name and the street it belongs to Decide who lives there first. Stop on the final note.
Draw the title as if it were meant literally Read the title before you press play. Stop when the song does, finished or not.
Draw the title as the cover of a book Choose the kind of book first. Leave room for an author you make up.
Draw the title as the name of a boat Choose the size of the boat before you start. Letter the name on it last.
Draw the title as the name of a creature Decide how many legs before the song starts. Finish its face by the end.
Draw the title as the name of a place on a map Pick coast, hills or city first. Stop at the last chorus.

Show all 60 rules (48 more)

From the sound 12

Draw every repeat in the song as a repeating pattern Choose one mark before you start. Add a row each time a part comes round again.
Draw the beat as a row of footprints Decide whose feet they are. One print for every bar until the end.
Draw the first instrument you hear as a creature Name the instrument first. Give it a face before the first chorus.
Draw the loudest moment as a shape Listen through the quiet parts. Draw only at the peak, then stop.
Draw the low notes as ground and the tune as what walks on it Draw the ground line first. Add walkers until the song ends.
Draw the quietest part as an empty room Wait for it. Start when the song drops and stop when it builds again.
Draw the rhythm in dots for short sounds and dashes for long Start at the top left, like writing. Stop where the song stops.
Draw the song as a building, one floor for each section Add a floor at every change. The roof goes on at the end.
Draw the song as weather on a small map Choose sun, rain or wind during the first verse. Stop on the last note.
Draw the song's loudness as a range of hills Low for quiet, high for loud, left to right. The last note is the far edge.
Draw the tempo as one line across the page Left edge on the first note, right edge on the last. Speed the line up when the song does.
Draw the voice as a single line with a mood Decide thick or thin first. Follow it up and down until it stops.

A place for it 12

Draw the garden this song would grow Pick three plants during the first verse. Let them spread until the song stops.
Draw the journey this song is the middle of Train, boat or on foot: pick before pressing play. Draw the window seat.
Draw the kitchen where someone is cooking to this song Decide what is in the pan first. Stop on the final note.
Draw the party this song arrives late to Decide how many guests are left. Stop when the song ends.
Draw the planet this song comes from Decide how many moons before the first note. Work on its surface until the end.
Draw the road this song belongs on Straight or winding: decide in the first bar. Add one vehicle at the end.
Draw the room this song would be playing in Decide day or night first. Furnish it until the last note.
Draw the shop that would play this song all day Choose what it sells first. Fill one shelf for each verse.
Draw the time of year this song lives in Choose one tree and dress it to suit. Finish when the music does.
Draw the town where this song is always playing Start with the main street. Add a building at every chorus.
Draw the view from the window while it plays Pick which floor you are on first. Stop when the song does.
Draw the weather this song sounds like Choose one kind of sky before you start. Put a small figure under it.

A character 12

Draw a robot built to play only this song Decide where the sound comes out. Add buttons until the music stops.
Draw someone hearing this song through a wall Decide whether they like it. Show the wall, and stop when it goes quiet.
Draw someone this song reminds you of, without their face Choose hands, shoes or a back view first. Stop when it ends.
Draw the animal that would sing this song Decide its size first. Give it a stage before the song ends.
Draw the hero this song would follow around Choose their walk first. Add the cape, coat or bag by the end.
Draw the listener in the front row Choose their age and their hat first. Finish the expression on the final note.
Draw the person dancing to it badly Pick one move before you start. Draw it with full confidence.
Draw the pet that perks up when this comes on Pick the animal before the first note. Start with the ears.
Draw the players as animals Count the instruments you can hear. One animal for each by the last chorus.
Draw two friends who disagree about this song One loves it and one does not: decide which is which. Finish both faces.
Draw whoever has this song stuck in their head Decide where they are when it strikes. Stop on the last note.
Draw your own character hearing it for the first time Choose their reaction in the first ten seconds. Finish the pose by the end.

The song is the clock 12

Change pencil whenever the singer stops Lay out three pencils or pens first. Swap at every gap in the voice.
Draw big in the loud parts and small in the quiet parts One subject, one page. Let the song set the size of every mark.
Draw only during the verses and rest in the choruses Pick your subject before the start. Hands off the page when the chorus comes.
Draw the first half with one hand and the second half with the other Guess the halfway point by ear. Swap hands there and carry on.
Draw with your eyes shut until the first chorus Choose something simple first. Open your eyes at the chorus and repair it.
Fill a page with one object, a new copy for every verse Pick the object before the song starts. Make each copy a little bolder.
Finish one small drawing and sign it on the last note Choose something you can see. The signature is the finish line.
Put the pen down on the first note and lift it on the last Choose a subject in the room first. One unbroken line for the whole song.
Shade only while the music is quiet Draw the outline in the loud parts. Stop at the end, wherever you are.
Start a new small sketch at every chorus Rule four small boxes before pressing play. Whatever is unfinished stays unfinished.
Swap drawings with a friend at the halfway point Agree the subject together first. Finish each other's page by the last note.
Turn the page a quarter turn at every change in the song Decide the subject first. Keep drawing whichever way up it is.

How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-09-30: rules for turning whatever song plays next into a drawing, each with a hint on what to decide before the song starts and when to stop. Every rule and hint is our own work and states no fact. No song, artist, album, lyric, music player or streaming service is named, and no lyric is quoted. No title repeats one in any other list on the site (the music drawing ideas and the art theme generator among them). Licence: own work

How it works

In the song shuffle drawing challenge you do not choose the song. Set your own music to shuffle and press Pick another rule. The rule turns the next track into a drawing, and you stop when the song does.

Read the full guide

How to play

Read the rule first, because most ask you to decide one thing before the music starts. Then play the next song, whatever it is, and draw until the last note. No skipping. A song you would not have chosen often gives the better drawing.

Five kinds of rule

A menu under the button keeps to one kind. Some rules work from the title and some from the sound. Others ask for a place or a character, and in the last kind the song sets the timing of the drawing itself. Every rule works with any song.

Write the song's title small in a corner when you finish. A page of these is a record of the evening.
Use a pen. A song is too short for rubbing out.
In a group, everyone draws to the same song under the same rule, then the pages go side by side.

Questions and answers

What is the song shuffle drawing challenge?

A drawing game with borrowed timing. You shuffle your own music, take a rule for turning a song into a picture, and draw for exactly as long as the next song lasts.

Do I need a particular playlist?

No. Any way of hearing songs in an order you did not choose will do: a shuffled collection, the radio, or a friend picking for you. This page plays no music and names no songs.

What if the song has no words?

Most rules still work. Those from the sound, a place and the clock need no words at all. For a rule about the title, use the name of the piece.

How many songs should I draw?

As many as you like. Three songs under three different rules make a short session, and each drawing stops when its song does, so the time looks after itself.