Tadpool Pond in Super Mario RPG is one of those places you’ll return to time and time again throughout your adventure. Not only do you have to go here to advance the story, but there’s a recurring music quest you’ll want to complete as well.
To the right of the main area is a body of water arranged like a music sheet. And sure enough, you’ll find the composer Toadofsky who’s working on his latest masterpiece. However, he needs your help to get the inspiration he needs. You’ll note that if you stand on the stone at the other side of the water, tadpoles will appear and slowly swim across the lines. Depending on when you jump on them, a different note will play. By bouncing on the tadpoles in certain orders throughout the game, you’ll help Toadofsky compose a song.
Helping Toadofsky isn’t terribly hard once you know what you’re doing, but it can be overwhelming to take in all at once. So to help you out, here’s how to compose every song in the Tadpole Pond in Super Mario RPG.
How translating the notes to music works
If you’ve ever watched The Sound of Music, you’ll be familiar with the song “Do-Re-Mi.” While you don’tneed to have watched the classic musical to solve these puzzles, this song does lay out the notation the game uses to tell you how to compose each tune. Knowing which notes correspond to each sound is key to performing each song.
From left to right, each position the Tadpoles swim to corresponds to these notes:
Mi Re Do Ti La So Fa
Use that as a reference and the actual act of composing music should be a breeze. The tadpoles will swim back and forth until you make a jump, so take your time and make sure you get the notes right.
How to compose the first Tadpole Pond song
You can perform your very first song after learning the shocking truth about Mallow. Tadpole Pond will open up, with all the tadpoles gleefully appearing as shop keepers and beyond. If you talk to one tadpole before you enter Toadofsky’s hangout, you’ll receive a hint to compose the following song:
So La Mi Re Do Re Do Re
Use the reference above and place the tadpoles in the correct order. You can also use the image above as a reference if you’re really lost on how this minigame works.
Correctly performing this song will earn you the Alto Card from Toadofsky. With this, you can visit one of the tadpoles on the leftmost end of Tadpole Pond and buy some handy healing items for your party.
How to compose the second Tadpole Pond song
Apparently, the miners in Moleville sing this tune! Regardless of whether that tracks for you or not, come back here after you’ve attended to the business in Moleville and Toadofsky will appear once more. To appease him, you’ll need to lay down the following notes:
Mi Do So Do Re La Ti Do
Once again, you can use the image above as a reference if you’re having trouble. This will grant you the Tenor Card, which lets you purchase even more valuable healing items in Tadpole Pond.
How to compose the third Tadpole Pond song
Once you visit Monstro Town, you’ll see a starfish that plays a series of (mostly) ascending notes. While no one in the game will tell you what exactly these notes are, this is actually the next song you’ll need to perform for Toadofsky. To solve this, you have to listen carefully to each note and recreate it by ear back in Tadpole Pond. Or, if you don’t quite have an ear for music, here are the notes outright:
La Ti Do Re So Do Re Mi
Again, use the above image as a reference.
How to compose the last song in the Tadpole Pond
For your final task, Toadofsky will ask you to flex your musical chops so he can complete his song. Any notes will work here, so do whatever you want! Whether you write a masterpiece or just enter “So” eight times, your reward will be the same.
With Toadofsky’s song fully composed, you will earn yourself the Soprano Card. This unlocks everything you can purchase in the Tadpole Pond, including the valuable full-heal item Croaka Cola. This was the Kerokero Cola in the SNES game, just in case you’re playing the original.
If you’d like, you can return here to rewrite your last verse if you aren’t happy with the result. Or you can move on and never see Toadofsky again. Either way, you’ve earned everything you can from here!
