How to Remove Vocals from a Song | 4 Easy Methods on Any Device

Introduction

Removing vocals from a song is a common need for creators, musicians, video editors, and producers who want to work with clean instrumental tracks. Whether you're making karaoke tracks, remixing, sampling, or improving audio for a video project, modern AI tools and audio-editing software now make vocal separation significantly easier and more accurate than traditional methods.
This guide provides a complete, step-by-step overview of how to remove vocals from a song using online tools like EaseUS and Media, open-source tools like Audacity, AI desktop software like UniFab, and mobile apps like BandLab.

Why Remove Vocals From a Song?

There are many practical and creative reasons users want to extract vocals or generate instrumental-only versions of a track:

• Create Karaoke or Performance Backing Tracks: Instrumental versions allow singers, performers, and content creators to practice or perform without the original vocals interfering.
• Remixing, Sampling & Music Production: Producers often remove or isolate vocals to create remixes, mashups, DJ edits, or sample packs.
• Improve Audio Quality for Video Editing: Video editors may need to eliminate vocals from background music so dialogue stands out or blend the instrumental into a scene seamlessly.
• Recover or Enhance Old Recordings: Removing vocals helps restore clarity in legacy or mixed recordings, especially when vocals conflict with new audio layers.
• Educational & Practice Purposes: Musicians frequently isolate instrumentals to study arrangements, chord progressions, or specific instrument parts.
• Creative Stem Manipulation: With vocals removed, creators can design sound effects, rearrange sections, add new layers, or repurpose the track freely.

How to Remove Vocals from a Song

Method 1: Remove Vocals from Song Using an Online AI Tool

Online AI tools are the fastest and easiest way to remove vocals because they require no installation and use powerful cloud-based models to separate vocals with high accuracy. They're ideal for beginners or users who want a clean instrumental in seconds with minimal effort.

• Choose an online tool: Visit an online vocal remover such as EaseUS, Media.io, or Moises.ai.
• Upload your song: Upload or drag the audio file (MP3, WAV, M4A, or even video).
• Process the file: The AI will separate the sound from the instrumental track.
• Download the result: Download the instrumental track.

Method 2: Remove Vocals from Song Using Audacity

Audacity is a free, open-source audio editor that gives you more control than online tools, allowing you to manually fine-tune vocal reduction using effects like “Vocal Reduction and Isolation” or advanced methods such as phase cancellation and AI plugins. It's perfect for users who want deeper customization without paying for premium software.

Option A — Vocal Reduction and Isolation (Recommended)

• Open Audacity and import your song.

• Select the entire track: Select → All.

• Go to Effect → Special → Vocal Reduction and Isolation.

• Choose Action: Remove Vocals or Remove Center Classic.

• Adjust Strength and Frequency Band.

• Preview → OK.

Option B — Split Stereo Track Inversion (Manual Method)

• Import the audio file.

• Track dropdown → Split Stereo to Mono.

• Select bottom track → Effect → Invert.

• Set both tracks to mono.

• Export your instrumental.

Option C — AI Plugins (OpenVINO Music Separation)

• Install the Intel OpenVINO plugin.

• Restart Audacity.

• Effect → OpenVINO AI Effects → Music Separation.

• Select 2-stem: Instrumental + Vocal.

• Export the separated stems.

Method 3: Remove Vocals from Song Using Desktop Software

Desktop software provides the highest sound quality, more processing power, and more professional-grade tools compared to mobile or online solutions. It's the best choice for musicians, producers, and editors who need precise control, plugin support, and consistent results across complex audio projects.

• UniFab Vocal Remover AI: UniFab's desktop free vocal remover uses an advanced AI model to separate vocals and instrumentals with high accuracy, making it ideal for users who want clean stems without manual audio editing. It supports most audio/video formats and completes processing in seconds.

• FL Studio: FL Studio provides precise vocal reduction through plugins and frequency control tools, allowing producers to adjust mid-range vocals, apply phase cancellation, or use third-party plugins for more advanced separation.

• GarageBand: GarageBand offers simple vocal muting, deletion, and EQ-based vocal reduction using Visual EQ or AU plugins, giving Mac users an accessible way to reduce vocals from mixed tracks.

General Steps for Removing Vocals in Desktop Software

1. Import your audio file into the software.
2. Choose the vocal removal method (AI separation, phase cancellation, or EQ).
3. Adjust the settings—such as frequency bands, plugin strength, or stereo inversion.
4. Preview the result, fine-tune if needed, and export your clean instrumental track.

Method 4: Remove Vocals from Song Using a Mobile App

Mobile apps offer convenience and portability, allowing users to remove vocals, isolate stems, and edit audio directly on their phones without needing desktop software. They're ideal for quick edits, casual use, or creators who want vocal removal on the go.

• For Android Users: Go to the Google Play Store for apps like "Vocal Remover - Studio365," "SonicMelody," or "SplitHit".
• For iPhone Users: Download apps like "Voloco: Vocal Recording Studio," "Moises: The Musician's App," or "Audio Editor-Music Editor" form App Store.
• Steps: Download the app like BandLab, upload the song, and wait the app processing and separating the tracks.

4 Best Methods to Remove Vocals from Song

1. UniFab Vocal Remover AI - Free AI Tool

UniFab Vocal Remover AI offers a sophisticated solution for isolating background tracks, providing clear and noise-free instrumental playback. It excels in both music video customization and karaoke practice by effectively separating vocals from audio and video files. With its user-friendly interface, achieving professional-quality results is straightforward and efficient.

Supported Platforms: Windows

Price: Free

Best For: Removing background tracks without quality loss for unparalleled karaoke experience.

Key Features

✅ AI-Driven Accuracy: Instantly isolates vocals and extracts instruments with precision, delivering clear, noise-free audio.

✅ Vocal & Accompaniment Separation: Quickly removes vocals and background noise, leaving only high-quality instrumental tracks for karaoke, music creation, or practice sessions.

✅ Smooth Audio-Video Separation: Seamlessly extracts audio from video files for easy editing and remixing.

✅ Broad Format Compatibility: Supports a wide range of formats such as MP4, M4A, and MP3, ensuring compatibility with all devices and platforms.

✅ Intuitive Interface: User-friendly design makes it easy to use, even for beginners, perfect for creating karaoke tracks.

✅ Enhanced Processing Speed: Leverages GPU acceleration, speeding up the vocal separation process by up to 50x for faster results.

Remove Vocals from a Song with UniFab

My Take on UniFab Vocal Remover

UniFab’s interface is straightforward, showing clear progress and benefiting from fast GPU acceleration. The results were excellent: the background music was completely removed, and the vocals were crisp and clear.

Bonus Tip: As seen in the UniFab interface, it supports many features, including those listed below. For more details, check out the UniFab review.

✅ Video & Audio Enhancement

• Upscale low-res videos up to 8K
• Convert SDR to HDR10/Dolby Vision
• Support AI frame interpolation
• Remove video noise
• Deinterlace video
• Stabilize video
• Colorize video
• Audio upmix to EAC3 5.1/DTS 7.1
• Remove Video Background

✅ Video Converting, Compressing, & Editing

• Extensive Format Support
• Lossless Compression
• Customizable Settings

2. FL Studio 

FL Studio is popular among music producers, DJs, and musicians for its robust capabilities in creating, recording, editing, and mixing music. FL Studio features a robust sequencer, virtual instruments, and effects plugins, making it suitable for various music genres. A standout feature is its capability to eliminate vocals through phase inversion. This technique swaps audio channels to cancel out center-panned sounds, allowing for effective vocal isolation and instrumental track creation.

Supported Platforms: Windows & macOS, there is also an app variant for iOS & Android.

Best For: Professional-level music production

Remove Vocals from Song with FL Studio

Step 1: Import Your Track

Open FL Studio and import your track by double-clicking it and selecting it from the 'Playlist' window.

Step 2: Set Up Mixer Chains

Click the 'Mixer' button and send the original song from the 'Input Track' chain to the 'Track 2' chain by clicking the 'X' button at the bottom of each track chain.

Step 3: Apply Effects to Track 2

Select 'Track 2' and open the 'Effects' window. Add 'Fruity Stereo Shaper' and adjust sliders to -1 on both mixers. Then, add 'Maximus' effect, mute 'Low' and 'High,' and remove track compression.

Step 4: Repeat for Track 3

Select the ‘X’ located at the bottom of ‘Track 3.' Now add 'Maximus' effect, mute 'Mid,' and remove compression. 

Step 5: Create Custom Control Knobs

Open the 'Dashboard' window, click 'Option,' then 'Add Control,' 'Wheel,' and 'Gray Shiny' to add custom knobs. Label them as 'Low' and 'High' in the 'Caption' fields.

Step 6: Set Automation for Low Knob

Right-click the 'Low' knob in the first 'Maximus' window and select 'Create Automation Clip.' Assign it to 'Dashboard Wheel 1.' Repeat for the second 'Maximus' window.

Step 7: Set Automation for High Knob

Repeat the previous step for the 'High' knob, assigning it to 'Dashboard Wheel 2' in the second 'Maximus' window.

Step 8: Vocal Reduction

Play the track and decrease the dashboard's 'Low' knob. This should effectively remove the vocals or minimize them.

3. GarageBand

GarageBand is Apple's versatile digital audio workstation, catering to beginners and professionals alike. While muting or deleting vocal tracks is straightforward when working with stems, removing vocals from a song in GarageBand can be trickier without them. GarageBand offers a complete music creation studio on your Mac with its extensive sound library, realistic instruments, and intuitive interface. It supports guitar, mic, amps, virtual drummers, and synths for creativity.

Supported Platforms: MacOS

Best For: Mac users who wish to separate vocals from soundtracks without making any investment. 

How to Remove Vocals from a Song Garageband

Step 1: Open Your Audio File

Import your audio file into GarageBand and select the entire track.

Step 2: Access Smart Controls

Click the 'Smart Controls' button to open the 'Smart Controls Window,' then choose 'Track.'

Step 3: Adjust EQ Settings

Navigate to the 'EQ' section and access the EQ menu. The menu displays a wave-style graphic of your song's EQ.

Step 4: Identify Vocal Frequencies

Locate frequency peaks where vocals might be on the graph (typically between 85 and 350 Hz) and drag them down to lower frequencies. Experimentation may be needed to pinpoint vocal frequencies accurately.

Step 5: Save and Export

Once adjustments are made, save your edited track and export it as usual.

4. BandLab

BandLab offers a social music platform and a handy mobile app, empowering music creators to produce and share tracks with their audience. Among its features is Splitter, an AI-powered tool that accurately splits songs into separate stems. The free version divides audio into vocals, bass, drums, and other instruments, while upgrading to Membership unlocks additional features like guitar stem separation and faster processing speeds. Splitter serves various purposes, from creating custom backing tracks for practice sessions to extracting acapella and aiding in mixing, producing, and sound design. 

Supported Platforms: Android & iOS

Best For: Creating instrumentals and collaborating with users around the globe.

How to Remove the Vocals from a Song with BandLab

Step 1: Navigate to the Splitter Tab

Begin by finding the 'Splitter' tab in BandLab. You can access it by going to the 'Create' section and selecting 'Tools.'

Step 2: Import Your Song or Video

Click the '+' button to add your audio file (under 15 minutes) or import a video file. BandLab's Splitter can also extract audio from videos.

Step 3: Let BandLab Do the Work

Sit tight while BandLab's Splitter processes your track. Once complete, you'll have four separate tracks at your disposal.

Step 4: Remove Vocals with the Mute Button

Use the 'Mute' button to eliminate the vocals from your track. Once satisfied, hit 'Export' to save the vocal-less version of your song.

Comparison Table

Below is a summary table to help you make a more informed choice.

How to Choose the Right Vocal Removal Method

It's important to choose the method that fits your goals, device, and experience level. Here's how to decide which option works best for you:

1. Choose UniFab Vocal Remover AI if you want the best overall quality

UniFab is ideal when you need studio-grade separation, minimal artifacts, faster processing, and support for larger or more complex audio files.

• Best for: karaoke creation, music production, acapella extraction, video editing
• Why choose it: local AI engine → cleaner stems & no upload limits
• Recommended for: Windows users who want professional results with zero noise bleed

2. Choose an online AI tool if you need speed and convenience

Web-based tools like Media.io or Moises.ai work well for quick, lightweight tasks.

• Best for: fast one-off vocal removal
• Why choose it: no installation required
• Limitations: dependent on internet speed, lower fidelity, upload restrictions

3. Choose Audacity or desktop editors if you want manual control

Audio editors allow you to fine-tune the vocal removal process using EQ, phase cancellation, splits, or AI plugins.

• Best for: users comfortable with audio editing
• Why choose it: flexible effects like Vocal Reduction & Isolation and OpenVINO
• Limitations: requires more time, knowledge, and experimentation

4. Choose a mobile app if you want vocal removal on the go

Apps like BandLab or Voloco are convenient for quick edits directly on your smartphone.

• Best for: quick stem separation on mobile
• Why choose it: portable, beginner-friendly
• Limitations: limited processing power, lower precision, app restrictions

5. Quick Recommendation

If you want the most balanced, high-quality, and reliable method, choose UniFab Vocal Remover AI first. It consistently produces clearer stems than mobile apps, online tools, and most manual editing techniques.

Final Verdict

You can remove vocals from a song using AI-powered desktop software, online vocal remover tools, mobile apps, or audio editors like Audacity. For the highest-quality and most reliable results, UniFab Vocal Remover AI is the top recommendation—its advanced AI engine runs locally on your computer, delivering cleaner vocal separation and better audio fidelity than most online or mobile solutions. 
If you want a quick, no-install method, online tools such as Media.io or Moises.ai let you upload your track and have the AI separate the stems automatically. For hands-on control, audio editors like Audacity offer tools such as Vocal Reduction and Isolation, stereo inversion, and AI plugins for more precise adjustments. And if you prefer processing on the go, mobile apps like BandLab or Voloco provide convenient AI-powered vocal removal directly from your smartphone.

FAQs about Remove Vocals from Song

How do I remove vocals from any song?

You can remove vocals from a song using AI-powered software like UniFab Vocal Remover. It accurately isolates and removes vocals, leaving the instrumental track intact. Simply upload your song, choose the vocal removal option, and the software will process it automatically.

What is the best vocal remover?

The best vocal remover is one that uses AI algorithms for precise and efficient vocal isolation. UniFab Vocal Remover is a top choice as it removes vocals and background noise with high accuracy, offering clean audio for karaoke, music production, and more. You may be also interested in what is the best ai acapella isolator, kindly head to this post.

How do I remove vocals from a song on my iPhone?

On your iPhone, you can use apps like GarageBand or third-party vocal remover apps that provide a vocal isolation feature. Simply import the song into the app and apply the vocal removal effect to extract the instrumental track.

How do I remove voice from a recorded audio?

To remove voice from recorded audio, you can use software like UniFab Vocal Remover or other audio editing tools that offer a vocal removal feature. These tools analyze the audio and separate the vocals from the instrumental parts, leaving behind cleaner audio.

How to separate vocals from a song？

You can separate vocals from a song using AI-powered tools like UniFab, Moises.ai, LALAL.AI, or EaseUS Vocal Remover. Simply upload your audio file, let the AI process it, and download the isolated vocal and instrumental stems. For manual control, software like Audacity or Adobe Audition offers vocal isolation tools such as Vocal Reduction and Isolation, Center Channel Extractor, or phase cancellation techniques.

What free app removes vocals from a song?

A free app that removes vocals from a song is UniFab Vocal Remover AI, which offers high-quality AI vocal separation at no cost. Other free options include Moises (free tier), BandLab, and Vocal Remover – Studio365, all of which allow you to upload a song and automatically extract the vocals or instrumental track.

How to remove vocals from a song premiere pro？

Option A — Using Adobe Audition (Best Quality)

1. Premiere Pro → Right-click audio → Edit in Adobe Audition.
2. Effects → Stereo Imagery → Center Channel Extractor.
3. Preset: Vocal Remove.
4. Save → return to Premiere.

Option B — Using External AI Tools

1. Upload to UniFab, Moises.ai, Media.io or similar.
2. Download instrumental.
3. Replace audio in Premiere Pro project.