Make a backing track from any song

The real record as your band — full arrangement, original key, lead vocal removed.

Drop your song here

or click to choose · mp3, wav, flac, m4a · up to 50 MB

What do you want?

VocalsTake the singing out, or keep only the singing.You get 2 files:VocalsSong without vocalsDrumsGet the drums alone, or play along without them.You get 2 files:DrumsSong without drumsBassGet the bassline alone, or play along without it.You get 2 files:BassSong without bassEverythingEvery part on its own, and the song minus each part.You get 8 files:VocalsDrumsBassOther (guitars, keys, synths)Song without vocalsSong without drumsSong without bassSong without the rest

Commercial backing tracks are re-recordings. Someone has played an approximation of the original, and however good the session players are, an audience that knows the record hears the difference immediately.

Separating the actual release gives you the actual production. Every horn stab, every synth line, every bit of the mix people recognise is the original one, because it is the original recording with one element taken out.

Who uses these live

Solo performers and duos. filling out a two-piece with the record's full arrangement behind them

Function and covers bands. covering a part nobody in the lineup plays — a horn section, a string pad, a specific synth

Theatre and school productions. accompaniment where hiring a band is not realistic and a MIDI backing sounds wrong

Preparing one properly

1
Start from a lossless source. A wav or a high-bitrate file. Backing tracks get played loud through a PA, where artefacts you cannot hear on earbuds become obvious.
2
Separate and listen on speakers. Check the result on the biggest speakers you have, not headphones.
3
Download, do not stream. Get the file onto the device that will play it. Never depend on a connection at a venue.
4
Level it against your other tracks. Separated audio can sit quieter than a commercial backing track — match levels before the set, not during it.

Things that catch people out on stage

The count-in is gone with the vocal. Add your own, or agree a visual cue, or the first bar will be ragged every time.
Backing vocals usually leave along with the lead. If a chorus depends on group harmonies, either sing them live or pick a different song.
Anything you notice in a quiet room will be louder through a PA, not quieter. Judge the track at performance volume.
Keep the original file too. If a track disappoints, comparing it against the source tells you whether the problem is the separation or the mix itself.

Questions

›Can I use these at paid gigs?

Performing copyrighted music in public is normally covered by the venue's own licence, arranged with whichever collecting society operates where you are. Playing to a backing track rather than with a band does not alter that, and neither does making the track here.

›Can I change the key to suit my range?

Not here — this separates only. Download the backing track and transpose it in any DAW or performance app, which will work better on a separated track than on a full mix because there is no vocal formant to distort.

›How long can the song be?

Up to ten minutes and 50 MB, which covers essentially all standard repertoire.

Where it struggles

Live use is the harshest test there is. A backing track that sounds fine on headphones can reveal a hollow midrange through a large PA, particularly on songs where the vocal was carrying more of the arrangement than you realised. Always audition at volume before you commit a song to a set.