Anacru: Complex Rhythm Studio

Construct advanced rhythm by ear and eye: metric modulation, interlocking polymeters, phase shifts, and nested tuplets — with live playback and MIDI export.

Anacru is a scratchpad for constructing advanced rhythm.

Most rhythm apps measure time — Anacru builds it. Instead of tapping along to a click, you assemble the rhythm you're hearing in your head from its parts: interlocking meters, tempo modulations, phase shifts, and tuplets nested inside tuplets. Then you play it back, watch it move, and export it to your DAW.

Built for composers, drummers, producers, and teachers who work past 4/4 — and for students trying to finally feel how these ideas fit together.

WHAT YOU CAN BUILD

• Polymeter — stack independent layers, each with its own meter, subdivision, accent pattern, and phase offset. Watch 5/4 drift against 4/4 and snap back into alignment, locked to one shared pulse.

• Metric modulation — pick the note value before and after a tempo change and get the exact new BPM instantly, with the direction never ambiguous. Chain modulations into a timeline the playback steps through as it loops.

• Nested tuplets — put a quintuplet inside a triplet inside a bar. The engine handles the math; you just stack them.

• Phase & accents — tap a pulse to accent it, or drag a layer's ring to rotate its phase. The wheel is the instrument.

THE INTERACTIVE WHEEL

Every layer is a ring of pulses on a single wheel, color-coded and voiced so you can follow each stream by eye and by ear. A playhead sweeps the cycle so you can see the relationships, not just hear them.

HEAR IT PROPERLY

Each layer gets its own pitch, stereo position, and selectable voice — woodblock, marimba, pluck, sine, or a kick/hi-hat drum kit — so interlocking parts read as separate instruments instead of one wash.

SEE IT NOTATED

Each layer is rendered on its own staff with correct meter, beaming, accents, and tuplet brackets.

TAKE IT WITH YOU

• Save and recall your patterns on-device. • Export a MIDI file — a clean tempo map carrying your modulation timeline, plus one track per layer — and drop it straight into any DAW.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN

No account. No sign-up. No tracking. No internet required. Everything lives on your device. One purchase, yours to keep.