Why Cymbal exists

A note from the maker

I'm Christian Fillies — a designer and front-end developer in Hamburg, and a drummer for the fun of it. Cymbal started the way most of my favourite projects do: as an itch I couldn't stop scratching.

I wanted to sit down at the kit, drop in a song I love, and just play along — with a chart that actually scrolls in time, that I can loop and slow down without leaving the app or handing my music to someone's server. Nothing out there felt like it was built by someone who plays. So I built it.

The drummer's bias

Drums are a feel instrument — it's all latency, response, and groove. That physical, time-keeping sense is the same lens I bring to software: a tool either respects the moment you're in or it gets in your way. Cymbal is my attempt at one that gets out of the way. Hit play, read, loop the fill until it's muscle memory.

A fun project, honestly

This isn't a startup pitch. I've spent 20+ years designing and building software — it's what my instincts reach for when I want to understand something or scratch an itch. Cymbal is that instinct pointed at my own hobby: part craft exercise, part love letter to playing along to records. It runs entirely on your device because that's how I'd want my own music handled — nothing uploaded, nothing stored on a server.

If it helps you spend more time at the kit and less time fighting an app, it's done its job.

— Christian