Where to Get Backing Tracks for Guitar (10 Websites and Apps)

Practicing with a backing track is one of the most efficient ways to progress with your guitar playing techniques, timing, composing skills, and creativity. With a backing track, you can play all the guitar scales, arpeggios, and licks you know and put them to use.

Practicing with a backing track is a lot more fun than just playing with a metronome. It will also make you grow as a musician by learning how to accompany different styles and genres and make you a more proficient guitarist when jamming around with your friends.

Luckily, there are many different sources you can use to play your guitar on top of backing tracks whenever you want.

1. LickLibrary (paid)

LickLibrary is a great paid guitar-learning website with online guitar lessons and courses as well as different material for every level guitarist. The website offers band and artist-specific lessons like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Van Halen-style playing courses, as well as genre-specific lessons like blues, rock, and metal guitar courses.

LickLibrary also has thousands of backing tracks of many famous songs from Sweet Child O’Mine to Hotel California, along with unfeatured tracks in different genres. There are more than 1000 backing tracks for different levels and in various genres. It is one of the best backing track libraries on the internet, which allows you to play on top of your favorite songs.

2. GuitarVoice (free)

GuitarVoice is a website focused on delivering free guitar backing tracks in multiple genres and artists for guitarists. There are more than 10 000 guitar backing tracks in the website’s library which you can stream or download easily.

The website also has a blog section to discuss or request new backing tracks. It also allows the users to upload new backing tracks, keeping the growth of the jam track library.

3. YouTube (free)

There is no need for an introduction for YouTube as it is the most extensive free video resource in the internet world. Many channels are offering large jam track libraries to play along with. Most of them also show the chord changes in the video to help guitarists play along with easier.

Some good channels to check out are Elevated Jam Tracks, Sebastien Zunino, JamTrack Society, Tom Bailey Backing Tracks, YT Jam Tracks, and Jam’in Backing Tracks.

4. Karaoke-Version (paid)

Karaoke-Version is another paid backing track source with more than 50 000 backing tracks in mp3 format. The website not only offers backing tracks based on actual songs but also unfeatured tracks.

The website offers customizable backing tracks to download, which means you can download the song with or without any instrument or vocals. So, this website can be used by guitar players, pianists, vocalists, and drummers, as well as for casual karaoke sessions.

5. BackingTracksPro (paid)

BackingTrackPro offers a large library of high-quality original backing tracks for lead instruments, including guitars. They are particularly composed for the website and come in 44.1kHz, 16-bit CD-quality for gigging and practice.

The tracks are in many different genres, from jazz to classic rock, and most of them sound great. However, I must say that this is a paid website, and the prices for each backing track are relatively high.

6. Ultimate-Guitar (paid)

You probably already know Ultimate-Guitar as the largest guitar tab library online. But you may not know that if you purchase their Pro-subscription, you gain access to a large library of backing tracks based on the most popular songs.

Just like a DJ, you can adjust the volume of each instrument of a song, making it a backing track suitable for whatever instrument you play. It also shows you the notes for each instrument which you can learn while jamming around.

7. Pro Band (freemium) 

Pro Band is a free app compatible with Apple devices as well as Android devices, which offers original guitar backing tracks recorded by pro musicians in a studio environment. All of the tracks can be adjusted to any key and different tempos, giving you huge amounts of possibilities to explore.

The free version includes only two tracks with the option of purchasing more from the store. The app has many tracks in various genres, including rock, jazz, funk, country, and blues. 

8. Backtrackit App (freemium)

Offering HQ jam tracks, Backtrackit App is yet another app compatible with both Apple and Android devices. It shows the chord progressions and allows you to change the songs to different keys, slow down the tempo, loop the parts, and play around with the EQ.

A limited number of songs are available in the free version; with the premium plus plan, you can gain access to all of the tracks and also download and use them in your recordings.

9. GuitarToneMaster (free)

GuitarToneMaster offers over 3000 free backing tracks based on the styles of famous bands, artists, and songs. The website has backing tracks for guitar, bass, and drums. It has Youtube videos integrated into it, through which the backing tracks are played. 

For most of the songs, the website or the video shows the notes on the scale to help guitarist players find the notes in the key.

10. GuitarMaps (free)

GuitarMaps is a free website with many different backing tracks sorted in genres, scales, and keys. You select a key or a scale with a genre, and the website shows you the possible free backing tracks to choose from. Every track has a Youtube video with the notes on the scale along with a Bandcamp link to download the selected song.

The website is focused on learning the scales and also has guitar scale maps available for download. This way, you can have the maps that show the notes in front of you anytime you want to jam.

How to play along with a guitar backing track?

If this is your first time playing along with a backing track, you should choose a slow-tempo one with an easy chord progression. You can start with a pentatonic scale with the notes open in front of you and try to create some basic licks with a focus on the rhythm.

Another great way is to play a guitar solo or a riff you already know on top of the backing track of the song. This way, you can work on your rhythm and timing before moving on to creating your own musical phrases. After you are comfortable playing the guitar solos and riffs, try to add your licks to those songs.

You may struggle at first, but with practice, patience, and dedication, you will get the hang of it and will realize you are rapidly progressing. 

Summary

Practicing with backing tracks is a great way to progress with your playing technique and composing skills. Either you play your favorite solo on top of the backing track of the song, or you just try to push the limits of your creativity with unfeatured tunes; you can grow as a guitarist and a musician playing on top of a track.

All of these websites and mobile apps are great tools to help you find the most suitable backing tracks to jam with. You can choose any of them without hesitation, depending on your needs and area of use.