Can I isolate vocals from background music if I have a separate identical audio waveform of the music?

Question

I have some vocals I recorded over a backing track, and I'd like to be able to remove the backing music in order to isolate the vocals (as much as possible).

I have a separate waveform with just the backing track. Is it possible to use the backing track waveform as a selection (or mask) in the recording with the vocals, enabling me to essentially cancel out the music?

SteveG_AudioMasters_ · Answer

CharlieChuck01 wroteI have a separate waveform with just the backing track. Is it possible to use the backing track waveform as a selection (or mask) in the recording with the vocals, enabling me to essentially cancel out the music? Yes you can... as long as you can line up the two tracks so that they are sample-accurate. If you can do this, and the amplitudes of the files are equal as well, then inverting the signal on one of them will cause it to cancel out the same signal on the other, leaving just the difference (the vocal, in this instance).That's the theory. I have to tell you that in practice, this is incredibly hard to achieve, and you may never succeed. This is because the level matching is really difficult to get right. One way you can try to improve this is to find a sample where there is no vocal present on either recording, and use the peak values there to help you to set the amplitude. The other thing you can try is to put the inverted and non-inverted tracks into Multitrack view and juggle with the mixer's faders until you get cancellation of the music. Once again, really difficult to get a result.

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