How to Remove Vocals From a Song for Karaoke

To remove the vocal from a song and get a karaoke version, upload the track to the stem splitter and choose the Instrumental mode. In a few minutes you get two files: the vocal and the instrumental. The instrumental is your karaoke track. The files are not published anywhere.

What you need for karaoke

• The full mix. Upload the song the way you listen to it. WAV or FLAC works better than MP3.
• Length. Songs up to 7 minutes. For longer mixes, split the song into parts or use a shorter version.
• An account. The Instrumental mode works without one.

Step by step

1. Open the stem splitter and upload the song.
2. Choose the Instrumental mode.
3. Start the processing and wait for the result.
4. Listen to the instrumental on headphones first, then on speakers.
5. Download the instrumental. The link to the result works for 24 hours.

How to check that the voice is gone

Listen to the instrumental with the same ear you will sing with. Check three places:

• The chorus. The lead voice is usually loudest there. If you can hear it, some of the vocal is still in the instrumental.
• Backing vocals. Harmonies and choirs often stay in the instrumental, because they sit away from the centre of the mix. This is a limit of the method, not an upload error.
• Reverb. A long reverb tail on the voice can stay in the instrumental. In karaoke it sounds like an echo with no singer. Quiet reverb usually does not get in the way.

Compare the same places with the original. If you sing over the instrumental, the level of the leftovers matters more than whether they exist: a quiet tail will not disturb you.

When the result will be worse

• A centred voice with heavy reverb. The voice and the reverb are mixed so closely that they are hard to separate.
• A live recording. The crowd and the room noise end up in the instrumental.
• A very dense mix. The more instruments there are, the more likely some of the voice ends up in the instrumental.

If you need karaoke for a performance, test the instrumental in advance on the same speakers or headphones you will use on stage.

What to do next

• Want to sing over the instrumental and get a mixed, mastered track? The vocal on instrumental tool mixes your recording with the instrumental and masters the result. Read how to put a vocal on an instrumental online.
• For the full guide to making an instrumental, read how to make an instrumental from a song online.
• For what stems are and where the separation has limits, read how to split a song into stems.

Can you use a karaoke version of someone else's song?

Karaoke at home, learning a part and rehearsal are personal use. Publishing a recording with that instrumental on streaming services, in music videos or in short videos needs permission from the rights holder. The rights to the song stay with its authors, and the person who publishes is responsible for the publication.