That one-line answer covers most of what people mean. But “stem” gets used loosely, so here’s the full picture from someone who works with them daily: what a stem actually is, how it differs from a multitrack, and how you can get stems out of a song you didn’t record.
The definition
A stem is a grouped element of a mix bounced to a standalone file. Instead of one finished song where everything is glued together, you have separate files — one for the vocals, one for the drums, one for the bass, and so on. Each can be played, muted, turned up or removed without affecting the others.
The word comes from the studio: engineers would “stem out” a mix into a handful of groups so it could be re-balanced later without going back to hundreds of individual tracks.
Stems vs multitracks vs the master
- Multitracks are the raw individual recordings — every microphone, every overdub, every take. A drum kit alone might be eight to twelve multitracks (kick, snare, each tom, overheads, room).
- Stems are those multitracks grouped and bounced down. All the drum mics become one “drums” stem; all the backing vocals become one “BVs” stem. Fewer files, each one a complete part.
- The master is the final single file — every stem combined into the song you hear on streaming.
Quick rule of thumb: multitracks = every part separately, stems = parts grouped, master = everything together.
The common stem types
When people split a song today, these are the usual stems — each links to a tool if you want to pull just that part:
- Vocals — the lead (and often backing) vocal. Remove it for an instrumental, or keep it as an acapella.
- Drums — the full kit. Isolate the drums to sample a break or transcribe a groove.
- Bass — the low end. Isolate the bass to learn a line.
- Guitar — isolate the guitar to study a part or mute it to play along.
- Piano / keys — isolate the piano for chords and voicings.
- Other — everything that doesn’t fall into the categories above (synths, strings, brass).
How many stems you get depends on the split: 2 stems (vocals + instrumental), 4 stems (vocals, drums, bass, other) or 6 stems (vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano, other) are the common options.
Where do stems come from?
Traditionally, only the people who made the record had the stems — they came straight out of the studio session. If you wanted to remix a song or make a karaoke version, you needed the artist to hand them over.
That’s changed. AI stem separation can now pull stems out of a finished mix — no session files required. You upload the song, and a model trained on how each instrument family sounds reconstructs each part as its own file. It isn’t perfect on every track (dense mixes leave faint artefacts), but on most modern productions it’s good enough to perform, practise and remix with.
What can you do with stems?
- Remove or isolate a part — instrumentals, acapellas, karaoke.
- Practise — mute your instrument and play along, or solo a part to learn it.
- Remix and sample — grab a clean vocal or drum break to build something new.
- Re-balance — nudge a too-loud vocal down, or bring the bass up.
The catch with most tools is they hand you the stem files and stop there. StemConsole opens them in a live mixing console in the browser — solo, mute and blend each stem, then download the exact mix you want. New to it? Start with how to remove vocals from a song.
Frequently asked questions
What is a stem in music?
A stem is a single grouped part of a song mixed down to its own audio file — for example the vocals, drums, bass or guitar on their own. Stems let you control, mute, remix or remove one part of a song without touching the rest.
What is the difference between stems and multitracks?
A multitrack is every individual recording (each mic, each take). A stem is a group of those tracks bounced together — e.g. all the drum mics combined into one 'drums' stem. Stems are fewer, larger groupings; multitracks are the raw individual parts.
How many stems does a song have?
It depends on how it's split. Common splits are 2 stems (vocals + instrumental), 4 stems (vocals, drums, bass, other) and 6 stems (vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano, other).
Can I get stems from a finished song?
Yes. If you don't have the original session files, AI stem separation can pull stems out of a finished mix. Upload the track to StemConsole and it returns the stems as separate files.
Dan Murtagh is a mixing engineer and audio educator, and the builder of StemConsole. He has spent years separating, mixing and teaching music — StemConsole is the stem tool he wanted to use himself.