Turn your own recording into a practice track with Moises

A rehearsal recording can become a way to practise with your band between rehearsals. Moises separates an existing mix into instrument and vocal tracks, then lets you change their balance. A bass player can turn down the recorded bass and play that part themselves, keeping the rest of the performance as accompaniment.[1]

This documentation-based guide follows the iPhone app, whose current UK listing requires iOS 17 or later. Use a Moises account and an internet connection; the service’s editing and separation tools require online access. The recording and practice routine below are proposed examples, not an app trial or a measured improvement in playing.[1][2]

Choose a recording with a clear practice goal

For an original exercise, use a recording your group made of its own bass, guitar and drums. Choose about 45 seconds containing a phrase you want to improve and the transition into the next part. Keep the untouched file. Your first goal is to play that transition comfortably while hearing the other musicians.

The Free plan allows five uploads per month, with each file up to five minutes long. It offers two presets: Vocals and Instrumental, or Vocals, Drums, Bass and Other. Choose the four-stem option for this exercise. A stem is a separately controllable part of the returned mix.[3]

Choose the preset around the part you need. The free four-stem set has a named Bass track, but no dedicated Guitar or Piano track. Moises reserves individual instrument selection for Premium and Pro. Check those choices if your goal depends on removing an instrument that the free preset does not separately expose.[3]

Hear what the separation actually gave you

Tap the plus button in Moises, choose the file from Files and select the separation. Wait for processing to finish, then open the song. The mobile player provides a volume control for each returned track. First play the complete mix, then bring the Bass level down while leaving the accompaniment audible.[4]

To inspect the bass, lower the other tracks and bring Bass back up. Listen for the notes you need, then restore the accompaniment and reduce Bass again. Keep those two listening jobs separate: one helps you hear the part; the other leaves space for you to perform it.[4]

Listen especially where the bass and kick drum land together. Is the bass line understandable when isolated? Does reducing it also make a useful part of the drum pattern hard to hear? These are proposed checks. If separation compromises the accompaniment, retain a little of the original part and practise against that more useful balance.

Make a short passage worth repeating

Tap the Sections icon near Play. Moises identifies sections automatically; tap one to play it repeatedly, or select several neighbouring sections. Treat the labels as navigation aids. For the exercise, include the lead-in to the transition and what follows it, so you practise entering and leaving the phrase rather than landing inside it already playing.[5]

Open the speed changer through the metronome symbol. Use minus to slow the track and Reset to restore its original speed. Free accounts have a limited adjustment range. Start with a modest reduction available in your account, then move back towards the original tempo as the passage becomes manageable.[6]

Changing key serves a different purpose. Tap the song-key button near Play and use plus or minus to transpose in semitone steps. Free accounts allow a two-semitone change. Keep the original key for this bass exercise unless the group deliberately wants another key; slowing the music and transposing it are separate decisions.[7]

The Smart Metronome supplies a click that follows the track. Its 0.5×, 1× and 2× options are metronome modes, separate from the song’s speed changer. Free accounts receive the click for the first minute, which is why the suggested 45-second file lets you explore it across the whole exercise.[8]

There is a useful distinction behind the tempo display. Moises says its Smart Metronome follows the recording’s changing beat timings, while the displayed beats-per-minute figure is an estimate. Entering that single number into another music editor can therefore produce a fixed click that drifts from a performance which changes speed. Check by listening across the passage, including its ending.[9]

For a whole take, open Song options and choose Count-in. Free accounts can add four clicks before the song begins. Use the preparation time to settle your hands and hear the starting pulse. Return to the beginning when you want to practise the complete entry.[10]

After several repetitions, bring back the full mix and play through without stopping. Notice whether you can still make the transition when the passage has its original surroundings. Then lower the recorded bass again. This is a suggested practice routine, rather than an assessment produced by the app.

Export the accompaniment you meant to keep

On iPhone, open Song Settings and Export. Choose Save to device or Share as offered, then Audio Mix, the desired MP3 or M4A format and Export Mix. Use the save or share destination to keep the resulting file somewhere you can find it again.[12]

Use a descriptive filename, such as “Rehearsal transition – bass reduced – slower”. Play the beginning, target phrase and ending. Check that you hear the intended accompaniment and have not exported an isolated bass stem. You will need a separate count-in if you want one outside the app.[11]

If you switch from phone to computer, check the settings again. Moises says uploaded songs are available across devices, but adjustments such as key and speed are stored on the device where they were made. The shared song library does not automatically reproduce your practice setup on another machine.[13]

Keep a short note of the phrase, the speed you chose and the balance that helped. Next time, change one part of the exercise: a little closer to the original tempo, a longer lead-in or a full performance without looping. The useful result is a recording you can practise with deliberately and a clear musical goal for the next session.

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