--- language: en updated-at: 2026-10-28 --- App Store release pending MixSift guide # Make a drumless practice mix from a local recording Mute or lower the Drums stem, balance the remaining parts and save a full-song backing mix for your own drum practice. Updated 28 October 2026 ## Prepare a local recording Use an Apple Silicon M1 or later Mac running macOS 14 or later. Intel Macs are outside the current supported scope. Start with a local audio file you are entitled to use; these steps do not grant recording, sharing or performance rights. ![Two practice goals: turn a part down to play it yourself, or listen to that part to study it. Both begin with the same four estimated groups.](/assets/practice-goals-diagram.svg) Playing along and studying a part call for different listening balances. Original conceptual diagram, not MixSift UI or an audio result. Separation can leave bleed; a quiet group is not proof that its instrument is absent elsewhere. [View full-size diagram ↗](/assets/practice-goals-diagram.svg) Supported input extensions are WAV, AIFF (.aif/.aiff), FLAC, MP3, M4A, AAC and OGG. A codec or file protection can still prevent decoding. Choose a source you can legally access rather than trying to bypass protection or import a streaming URL. A drumless mix is a backing track with the separated Drums stem removed or reduced. It is useful when you want to play that part yourself, but it is not a guarantee that every drum sound will disappear. Public availability is still unverified; this local website review offers no download. ## Create four stems 1. **Choose the initial result and folder.** On Home, choose Full Stems and Choose Output Folder before importing. This walkthrough uses all four groups: Vocals, Drums, Bass and Other. These choices are captured when a file joins the queue; changing Home defaults later does not rewrite an existing queued job. 2. **Add your file and split it.** Use Add File(s), or drop the permitted local file onto Home. It joins the Queue. Select Split Tracks to start; queued files are processed sequentially. Wait for completion, then open the completed project from Library in Stem Mixer. Reuse an available completed four-stem project if you already have one. ## Build the drumless backing 1. **Select the practice starting point.** In Stem Mixer, choose Play Drums — No Drums under Practice Mix. This mutes Drums and replaces the current Level, Mute and Solo settings. Choose it before fine-tuning; reapplying a preset will replace those adjustments. 2. **Check what you are hearing.** Select Play Mix. Check that Vocals, Bass and Other are unmuted and that no accidental Solo excludes them. To do the same setup manually, choose Full Mix and turn on Mute for Drums. 3. **Keep a quieter drum guide if useful.** For partial guidance, turn Drums Mute off and lower its Level. That produces reduced drums rather than a drumless mix. Adjust the other stems to make a comfortable backing balance. 4. **Inspect remaining percussion.** If percussion remains, Solo the other stems one at a time to locate it. Turn Solo off afterwards. Drums is a combined stem, not a set of separate kick, snare or cymbal tracks; Other can also contain rhythmic sounds. ## Use the mixer controls deliberately - Level sets a stem’s contribution to the mix. The current range is −60 dB to 0 dB: it lowers a stem relative to its default level rather than boosting it above 0 dB. Use Mute when you want the stem silent. - Mute silences that stem even if its Solo is also on. - Solo restricts the mix to the available soloed stems. You can solo more than one stem; a muted soloed stem stays silent. Clear temporary Solo selections before making your backing mix. A Solo on Drums is useful for studying the estimated drum part, but it is the opposite of a drumless backing setup. If Drums is also muted, that soloed channel stays silent. For the backing, restore the other intended parts and clear the temporary Solo selection. ## Export the whole-song practice mix 1. **Open the mix export.** Choose Export Mix… and check included/excluded stems, Format, Filename and Destination. Confirm that Drums is excluded if you want it muted, or included at the intended Level if you want a quieter guide. 2. **Save and check the result.** Use WAV, AIFF or FLAC, then confirm Export Mix. It saves the full song with the captured Level, Mute and Solo settings. Master Volume and the metronome are not included. No loop, selected region, tempo change or pitch change is exported by this workflow. 3. **Audition the saved file.** Use Show Export in Finder after completion and listen in your intended player. Check sparse passages as well as full sections before rehearsing with it. Later live mixer changes do not update a file already exported. If the mix needs sample-clipping protection, review the offered whole-mix reduction or lower stem levels before exporting again. A lower Master Volume helps listening but does not lower the export. ## Listen for separation limits Drum hits can bleed into other stems, and separation may alter transients or leave artifacts. Reducing another stem to hide leaked percussion may also remove music you wanted to keep. The result is an estimate from the source recording, not an original drumless studio mix. **Illustrative scenario:** a drummer with permission to use a band rehearsal recording wants to practise the whole song against voice, bass and the remaining accompaniment. Play Drums — No Drums offers a starting state to audition. No track was processed, no drum-removal performance was measured and no clean result is promised here. Audio separation, waveforms and project contents are processed on your Mac without uploading them for separation. Downloading the app, purchases, Restore and access verification can need internet. Apple purchase services and any selected RevenueCat route are separate from audio processing; “local audio” does not mean every service is offline. ## Continue with the right output Read [practice mix versus separate stems](/guides/export-practice-mix-vs-stems) before saving your next version. See [the product workflow](/#workflow) and [separation-quality support](/support#separation-quality) for the current product boundaries. [All guides](/guides) Audio processing on your Mac. Prelaunch · Public availability unverified.