Free Karaoke Maker: Turn Any Song Into Karaoke

Karaoke track, instrumental and karaoke video

A karaoke maker takes the vocals out of a song and gives you the music to sing over. This one also keeps the original vocal as its own track, muted at the start, so you can bring it in while you learn the song. The words around karaoke get used loosely, so the table sorts out what each format holds and where it plays.

MuseHub Karaoke Maker makes the first three, as audio. It does not add lyrics. For a karaoke video or an MP3+G file, take the karaoke track into a lyric-video or karaoke-authoring app, which times the words to the song.

The Vocal Remover runs the same separation and hands over only the instrumental. The karaoke maker keeps both halves and plays them in sync, which is what makes the guide vocal possible.

Learning a song with the guide vocal

Each row in the player has its own mute and solo buttons, so you decide how much of the original singer you hear. A staged routine works for most singers.

1. Listen with the guide on. Unmute the guide vocal and play the whole song. Follow the phrasing, the breaths and where each line starts.
2. Solo the guide for hard passages. Solo the vocal row to hear the melody without the band. Fast runs and busy choruses are easier to pick apart this way.
3. Sing with the original. Play both rows and sing along, matching the singer line by line.
4. Drop the guide where you are sure. Mute it for the verses you know and unmute it for the lines that still slip.
5. Sing it alone. Mute the guide for the whole song, record yourself on your phone and compare the take with the original.

Both tracks also download as separate files. Load them into Audacity or any multitrack editor, set the guide vocal a few decibels below the karaoke track and export the pair as one file. You then have a practice version with a quiet guide that plays anywhere, without the browser.

Fast lyrics, such as a rap verse or a patter song, are easier to learn slowed down. Lower the tempo of both tracks by the same amount, so they stay together, and raise it in steps as the words settle. Changing tempo without changing pitch keeps the key you will sing in.

Finding a key that fits your voice

Songs are recorded in the key that suits the original singer. If the chorus sits too high for you or the verses too low, move the karaoke track up or down by a few semitones. A semitone is the step from one piano key to the next, black keys included, and twelve of them make an octave.

• Too high. Shift down one or two semitones at a time until the highest note of the chorus feels comfortable.
• Too low. Shift up the same way, checking the lowest line of the verse.
• Written for another voice type. A song first sung by a much higher or lower voice can need a larger move of several semitones.

Change the pitch without changing the tempo, so the song keeps its speed and its feel. Audacity does this for free, and How to change speed, tempo and pitch in Audacity shows the steps in Audacity 3 and 4. Shifts of a few semitones usually sound natural. Larger ones can make cymbals and bass sound processed. If you practice with the guide vocal, shift it by the same amount so it stays in tune with the music.

Songs that make good karaoke tracks

The karaoke maker works on any song, and some give cleaner karaoke tracks than others. These points help you pick the version to upload and know what to listen for.

• Studio recordings. Crowd noise and room echo in a live recording blur the line between the voice and the band.
• The best copy you have. A WAV, FLAC or high-bitrate MP3 holds more detail than a low-bitrate file, and the karaoke track keeps that detail.
• Vocals with light effects. Heavy reverb or distortion on the voice can leave a faint trace in the karaoke track.
• Group choruses. All the vocals in the mix go to the guide vocal track, harmonies and backing singers included. For a song built on call-and-response or a big group chorus, keep the guide in quietly or sing it with friends.
• Long versions. The tool takes songs up to 20 minutes, so an extended mix or a medley goes through in one piece. Trim a long instrumental outro in an editor if you want the next singer up sooner.
• Instrument solos. A saxophone, violin or lead synth playing in the vocal range can keep a trace of vocal or lose a little of its own sound.

Before you download, play the loudest chorus and the quietest verse. Leftover vocal is easiest to hear in those two places.

Setting up a karaoke night at home

The track is half of the evening. A few checks before guests arrive keep the first song free of feedback and dead speakers.

• Speakers. Play a karaoke track through the system you will use. The Speaker Test plays a chime on the left and the right side in turn, so you can catch a dead channel or swapped wires.
• Microphone. If the singer’s mic runs through a computer, the Mic Test shows the input level live and records a five-second clip to play back.
• Levels. Set the music loud enough for the singer to hear it over their own voice, and keep the vocal a little above the music in the room.
• Volume between songs. Tracks from different albums play at different loudness. Normalize the downloads in Audacity before the night, or keep a hand on the volume between singers.
• Feedback. That howl comes from the mic picking up its own sound from the speakers. Keep the singer beside or behind the speakers and point the mic away from them.
• Playlist. Download each track as you make it. Results stay online for seven days, and a downloaded file plays without a connection.
• Lyrics. Without a karaoke video, keep the words on a phone, a tablet or a printed sheet.

Singing other people’s songs in public

A karaoke track for your own living room is the everyday use of a karaoke maker. The rules change once the performance or the recording leaves the house, because a song carries two sets of rights. One covers the composition, the music and lyrics. The other covers the recording you separated.

• Private singing and practice. Singing along at home with a copy of a song you own is ordinary karaoke.
• Parties and venues. Public performance of a song needs a performance license, which many venues hold for the music they host. For a public event, ask the organizer what is covered.
• Covers online. Posting yourself singing over the original instrumental uses the original recording as well as the song. Video platforms can recognize the recording and claim or block the upload.
• Releasing a cover. A released cover usually needs a license for the composition. Using the original backing track as well needs permission from the owner of the recording, usually the record label.

Rules differ between countries. For anything you plan to publish or sell, check with the rights holders first.