As a voice teacher, a huge part of my job is finding resources for my students to use during their lessons and performances. This includes backing tracks. In my experience, many people often go to YouTube to find backings. However, even if you happened to find a backing track, it is often either of poor quality, has annoying backing vocalists (or even worse, a low volumed voice singing the leading part with you), or illegally sourced and distributed. I’ve also had experiences where I have listened to a preview of a $10 backing, bought it only to listen to it fully and find out it is completely different to the sheet music I have. I know that I am not alone in this, so I would love to introduce you to Piano Trax! More specifically, the app.
Piano Trax is a store that provides gorgeous digital piano backing tracks. The store was founded by Tom Griep, who plays and creates each individual track found on Piano Trax. And what I love about these tracks is that YOU CAN TELL. The quality of these tracks are superb and so easy to sing with. I also love how they have an extensive music theatre range, and not just the popular musicals! I often find that Piano Trax is the first place to upload most new music theatre repertoire, which is incredibly handy when I have students coming to their lessons wanting to learn the brand new trending musical. New songs are constantly being added and it’s my go-to place for piano backing tracks. What I especially love about Piano Trax is it’s app. Available on both iOS and Android devices, the app is amazing because of the in-app subscription you can purchase. Sure, it’s super simple to buy the backing tracks straight from your device, but let me tell you why it is 100% worth it to get a subscription:
- You can listen and use every backing track that is available on the app
That’s right. You have access to thousands of backing tracks. No more 30-second previews only to be left disappointed when you buy a backing. With this, you can listen and PRACTICE with a backing track through the app when you have a subscription. No extra charges. And just to notch up this awesome feature, you can even store the backing tracks you want so that you can play them offline. Anytime you want to access a backing with no interruptions, simply click on the “My Trax” section and sing to your heart’s content!
- You can edit the backing tracks to find the perfect tempo/key for your voice
So not only do you have access to thousands of backing tracks and can store them offline, you can even edit the backing tracks to suit your voice. This is an excellent feature as, for many singers, audio editing software such as Audacity and Garageband are not always user-friendly, and Piano Trax provides an easy solution for that. It is also a great feature to use when you are learning a difficult piece (I’m looking at you, Sondheim). Having the ability to slow down a track while learning, say, a patter song, is an incredibly useful tool.
- A subscription is affordable + you get access to some extras
So, to have access to this incredible tool, how much is it going to cost you? Well, you will be surprised to hear that a monthly subscription is only (as of 06/07/2020) $15.49AUD a month! For less than the price of two Piano Trax backing tracks a month, you can have access to thousands of quality music theatre backing tracks. And just to sweeten the deal, not only do you have access to all of that, you also get to personally download and own 3 backing tracks a month! If that isn’t a sweet deal, I don’t know what is!
These are the reasons I love this app and I recommend it to everyone, from performers to teachers! However, it is my job to be honest with you guys on this platform. Although I wish I could say that this app is perfect, it simply isn’t. Two gripes that I do have with it is that 1) it doesn’t have every single music theatre song on there (which is an unreasonable expectation for me to have, to be honest) and some of the songs only have a partial section or an audition cut available, and 2) the app is a touch glitchy. In my experience, it can take a while to load, and it has crashed on me one or two times. Honestly though, for the price that I am paying for access to many backing tracks that I need, I am willing to put up with those two inconveniences.
I love this app and what it has to offer, and I use it every chance I get. If you would like to try Piano Trax, they do offer a free 7-day trial, so simply look up PianoTrax in the store, and sign up for the trial through the app (sign up for a free account is essential). Please consider following their socials:
Facebook.com/pianotrax
Twitter.com/pianotraxmusic
Instagram.com/pianotrax