Turn any song
into karaoke.

What you need

• A song file you own or have permission to use — MP3, M4A, WAV or FLAC — in Files, your music library, Camera Roll, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, or at a public link.
• The free Vocal Remover app on iPhone or iPad.
• Premium for full-length songs; the free version lets you try the separation on a short preview.

Make a karaoke track in five steps

1. Import the song from wherever it lives on your phone or in the cloud.
2. Let the AI separate it into six stems: vocals, drums, bass, piano, guitar and other sounds.
3. Mute the vocal stem, or keep it very low as a guide while you learn the melody.
4. Open the lyrics view and sing along as the words follow the song.
5. Move the key if the chorus sits too high or too low, then export the instrumental as MP3, WAV, FLAC or M4A.

Fit the song to your voice

The original key was chosen for the original singer, not for you. If the chorus strains, try one or two semitones down before giving up on the song; if it feels flat and dull, try one up. Small moves keep the recording sounding natural, while big jumps of five or more semitones start to colour the sound.

While you are learning, leave the original vocal at a low level so you can follow the phrasing, then mute it completely for the real take. For fast verses, slow the tempo down a little and bring it back up once the words sit comfortably.

Getting a cleaner instrumental

• Start from the best file you have. A WAV or a high-bitrate MP3 separates better than a low-quality copy.
• Listen through the chorus. Stacked harmonies, heavy reverb and vocal effects are the hardest parts to remove and can leave faint traces.
• Rebalance, don't just mute. Raising the piano or guitar slightly can cover small artefacts and fill the space left by the voice.

A note on rights

Removing the vocal doesn't give you any new rights to the recording. Singing at home is one thing; for public performances or posting online, check what permissions you need for the song.

Common questions