Practise guitar with a backing track from any song
You can take any recording, mute the guitar, and play the part yourself over the real drums, bass, keys and vocals. StemConsole does it in the browser with no install: upload, run Full Separation so the guitar gets its own stem, mute it, and play.
Four-stem splitting is free and the first split needs no account. The guitar stem needs Full Separation (Pro, or a single credit); slowing the stems down and named loops are Pro.
How to make a guitarless track to play over
- 1
Upload the song
Drop an MP3, WAV, FLAC or M4A (up to 200MB) at stemconsole.ai. The first split needs no account.
- 2
Run Full Separation
Six stems: vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano and other. Pro includes it; a US$1.99 credit buys it for one song.
- 3
Solo the guitar first
Voicings, palm muting and how long the notes ring are much clearer with the band gone.
- 4
Mute the guitar and play
Mute the guitar stem, bring the bass up a touch, and play along. Save the session so the balance is remembered under My songs.
- 5
Loop it, and slow it down with Pro
Drop Speed to three-quarters with the pitch locked for a new song, loop the solo or the tricky change, and raise the speed as it settles.
- 6
Export
Bounce mix gives a guitarless MP3 free; WAV bounces, and bounces at a changed speed or key, are Pro.
Tips for guitarists
Use the soloed stem to work out the tone as well as the notes. You can hear the pickup position, the amount of gain and whether the part is doubled, which usually explains why your version sounds thinner than the record.
Check chord roots against the bass stem. When a voicing is ambiguous, solo bass and guitar together: the bass gives the root and the guitar gives the colour on top.
Improvising over the track? Read its key first with the free Key & BPM Finder, which names the scale to solo in.
Building speed on a riff or a solo? Set the free online metronome to the song’s tempo (tap it in, or take it from the finder), start 20 BPM under it with sixteenths on, and climb before you take it back to the track.
Two guitars arrive on one stem, so listen for panning: rhythm parts often sit left and right, the lead in the centre. Learn the rhythm part first.
No Pro yet? The free Basic Split folds guitar into "other" with keys and synths. For guitar, bass and drums trios, "other" is mostly the guitar, so muting it gives a clean guitarless track for free.
What to expect
Distorted rhythm guitar separates well. Clean guitar that shares a register with piano can leak slightly between the two stems, and strummed acoustic sometimes lands partly in "other"; muting guitar and piano together solves the leak if you do not need the keys.
What is free and what is Pro
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Stems | Vocal Remover and 4-stem Basic Split | 6-stem Full Separation (adds guitar and piano) |
| Slow down | The whole song, 50% to 150%, pitch kept (free player) | Separate stems too |
| Looping | One A/B loop (free account) | Named loops, count-in, tap tempo |
| Change key | The whole song, 12 semitones either way (free player) | Separate stems too |
| Downloads | MP3 stems and MP3 mix bounces | WAV stems and bounces, including at a changed speed or key |
| Splits | 5 a month; first needs no account | 100 a month |
Pro is US$6.99 a month or US$49 a year. A US$1.99 credit buys one Full Separation, no practice tools, never expires. See plans.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Pro to practise guitar with a backing track?
You need Full Separation for a guitar stem: Pro, or a US$1.99 credit for one song. Playing along is free once the song is split; speed and key on the stems, and named loops, are Pro.
Does it separate acoustic guitar?
Yes, though strummed acoustic in a busy mix can partly land in the other stem. Fingerpicked and lead acoustic parts usually come out cleanly.
Can I slow the song down without changing the key?
Yes. The free speed and key player slows the whole song from 50% to 150% with the pitch kept. To slow the band with your guitar muted, use Pro in the practice room.
Does it work with MP3 files?
Yes. MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, OGG and AAC up to 200MB. Higher bitrates separate more cleanly.
Can I keep a little of the original guitar as a guide?
Yes. Pull the stem down to a whisper instead of muting it, and mute it entirely once the part is in your hands.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, in the mobile browser with no app. Use headphones, or run the phone into your practice amp.
Compared with YouTube backing tracks and tab players
| YouTube backing tracks | Tab player apps | StemConsole | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any song | Only what someone uploaded | Only tabbed songs | Yes, any recording |
| Real recording, guitar removed | Usually a re-recording | No, synthesised | Yes |
| Hear the guitar part soloed | No | Yes, as MIDI | Yes, the actual recording |
| Slow down and loop | Speed only | Yes | Loop free; slow the whole song free, the stems with Pro |
| Cost | Free | Subscription | Free split; Full Separation with Pro or a credit |
More tools compared, with prices and platforms: the best ways to make a backing track and the best tools to isolate guitar.
Related guides and tools
Isolate guitar
Hear the guitar part alone, or mute it and play along.
Create a backing track from any song
Set each stem’s level, then bounce the mix: MP3 free, WAV with Pro.
Slow down a song without changing pitch
Learn fast passages at a comfortable speed without changing the key, free in your browser.
Loop a section of a song
Repeat a phrase until it sits under your fingers. Basic looping is free; named loops need Pro.
Learn a song by ear
Solo the part, slow it down, loop the phrase.
How AI stem separation works
From the blog. Spectrograms, masks, and why some instruments separate cleaner than others.
Key & BPM Finder
Find a song’s key and tempo free, right in your browser.
Online metronome
Accents, subdivisions, tap BPM and a speed trainer, free in your browser.
Written by Dan Murtagh, mixing engineer and audio educator. Updated 3 October 2026.