The Best Ways to Make a Backing Track from Any Song in 2026

Disclosure: I build StemConsole, one of the tools below. Details read from each vendor’s own pages in September 2026. Plans change, so confirm current terms before you pay.

Three ways to get a backing track

Split your own recording. AI stem separation pulls the song apart into vocals, drums, bass and other parts, and you mute the one you play. It works on any song you have as a file, and you hear the real band, not a cover. Guitar and piano need a 6-stem split; in a free 4-stem split they share the “other” stem with keys and synths.

Buy from a catalogue. Services like Karaoke-Version re-record popular songs in the studio, so every instrument is clean. The catch is the catalogue: if your song is not in it, you cannot get it.

Generate one from chords. Band-in-a-Box builds a band around a chord chart you type in. Nothing is removed from a recording, so it suits jazz standards, originals and chord practice more than learning a specific record.

At a glance

Details read from each vendor’s own pages in September 2026. Where a vendor does not publish a detail, the table says so.

The tools, one by one

1. StemConsole: a backing track from your own song in the browser

StemConsole is the tool I built. Upload a song, split it, and the stems open in a live mixer. Pick your instrument under I’m practising and press Play with the band: your part is muted and the real drums, bass and vocal carry on. Hear my part solos it instead, for learning. Both are free on any split. Keep your part at a low level as a guide at first, then pull it out.

Singers, bassists and drummers get a clean track from the free Basic Split. Guitarists and pianists need Full Separation for a stem of their own. Bounce the mix to MP3 for rehearsal, free, or with Pro change the speed and key first and bounce it in WAV.

Splitting, the live mixer, Hear my part, Play with the band and a basic A/B loop (with a free account) are free. Speed, key change, named loops, count-in and tap tempo are Pro. The plans are summarised at the end of this page, and the demo song unlocks every tool, so you can try them before you upload anything.

Where others win: no YouTube link import, no chord detection, no native phone app, and the slowest speed is 50%. Uploads are MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, M4A, AAC or WMA up to 200 MB.

2. Moises: many stem types in a phone app

Moises runs on the web, desktop, iPhone and Android, with a mixer to mute, solo and set levels, and downloads in MP3, WAV and other formats. Its separation targets go well beyond six stems: lead and backing vocals, acoustic, electric, rhythm and solo guitar, piano, keys, strings, brass and individual drums, up to five per upload on paid plans. The free plan splits into 2 or 4 stems, 5 uploads a month on files up to 5 minutes. Prices appear after login. See the best Moises alternatives.

Official reference: Moises stem separation.

3. LALAL.AI: one instrument out, one pass at a time

LALAL.AI splits one stem type per pass and gives you both halves, for example drums and a drumless track, or piano and everything else. It offers electric and acoustic guitar, piano, synth, strings and wind among its stem types. It runs on the web, desktop, iOS and Android. The free Starter plan includes 10 minutes as a preview with no downloads; Lite is $7.50 a month and Pro $15 a month on annual billing. It does not list a practice mixer, so you play the result in your own player.

Official reference: LALAL.AI plans.

4. BandLab Splitter: free inside a free DAW

BandLab’s Splitter is free with an account on web and mobile and splits into 2 stems (vocals and others) or 4 (vocals, drums, bass, others). BandLab Membership adds guitar and piano separation and MIDI conversion. The stems land in BandLab’s online studio, which suits people who already make music there.

Official reference: BandLab Splitter features.

5. Fadr: stems for producers, free in MP3

Fadr’s free plan gives unlimited stems as MP3: vocals, melodies, drums and bass, so guitar and keys sit together in melodies. Fadr Plus, at $10 a month or $100 a year, adds piano, guitar types, strings, drum parts and WAV. It leans towards remixing more than play-along practice. See the best Fadr alternatives.

Official reference: Fadr Plus features.

6. Ultimate Vocal Remover: free on your own computer

UVR is free, open-source software for Windows, macOS and Linux. Its 6-stem Demucs model returns vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano and other with no upload limits, so you can build a backing track in any audio player or DAW by leaving your stem out. You install it and wait for renders on your own hardware.

Official reference: UVR on GitHub.

7. Karaoke-Version: studio-made tracks of popular songs

Karaoke-Version sells re-recorded versions of popular songs as custom backing tracks. You mute any instrument before downloading, and each track is $2.99 as an MP3, with a few free tracks to try. The parts are cleaner than any AI split because they were recorded separately, but you are playing along with a cover, and only songs in the catalogue are available.

Official reference: Karaoke-Version custom backing tracks.

8. Jamzone: a play-along catalogue with a mixer

Jamzone is an app for Mac, iOS and Android built around a catalogue of multitrack songs. Its player lets you solo and mute parts, change key and tempo, and loop sections. The free tier covers a selection of rights-free songs and 45-second previews; Premium and Pro are priced in the app. Like Karaoke-Version, it works from its catalogue rather than your own files.

Official reference: Jamzone.

9. Band-in-a-Box: a band generated from a chord chart

Band-in-a-Box from PG Music takes a chord chart and a style and generates an arrangement from recordings of session players: drums, bass, piano, guitar and strings. It does not take anything out of a recording. It runs on Windows and Mac, and Windows packages start at $129 as a one-off purchase, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Official reference: PG Music Band-in-a-Box.

Getting a backing track that feels like a band

I have spent 20 years mixing and mastering records and a decade teaching audio. Here is how the main tools compare, and who each one suits.

1. Give your instrument its own fader. In a 4-stem split, a guitarist muting “other” also loses the keys. For a guitar, bass and drums band that is fine; with keys in the song, use a 6-stem split.
2. Keep a little of your part at first. Pull your stem down to a whisper rather than muting it, so the original player guides you through the changes. Take it out once you know the song.
3. Mix for playing, not listening. Push drums and bass up a touch, since that is what you lock to, and bring the vocal down unless you are the singer.
4. Expect a trace of the muted part. Dense or heavily distorted mixes leave a faint ghost of the removed instrument. Once you are playing over it, you will not hear it.

Which should you pick?

• You want to play along with the real record, today, on any device: StemConsole.
• You play guitar or keys: a 6-stem split in StemConsole, Moises, LALAL.AI or Fadr Plus.
• You want it free on your own computer: Ultimate Vocal Remover.
• You want the cleanest possible parts for a popular song: Karaoke-Version or Jamzone.
• You are practising changes or an original tune: Band-in-a-Box.

Step-by-step guides: make a backing track in StemConsole, practise guitar with a backing track and drum practice without drums.

Try every practice tool on the demo song first: open the demo. No upload, no account and nothing to install.

StemConsole plans: free covers vocal removal and a 4-stem split (vocals, drums, bass, other), 5 splits a month, the live mixer, a basic A/B loop, a saved library and share links. Pro is US$6.99 a month or US$49 a year and adds 6 stems with guitar and piano, WAV, 100 splits a month, and the practice room: speed from 50% to 150% without changing pitch, key change up to 12 semitones, multiple named loops, tap tempo and count-in. A US$1.99 credit buys one 6-stem split with MP3 downloads and basic A/B looping. WAV, speed, key change and multiple named loops require Pro.

Frequently asked questions

Dan Murtagh is a Melbourne mixing and mastering engineer with 20 years making records and a decade teaching audio. He built StemConsole as a practice tool for his students. More about Dan.

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