How to Remove Music from Video But Keep Voice (2026 Guide)
You have a video with dialogue buried under music. Maybe it's a clip you want to repurpose, footage with copyrighted music, or content that needs voice-only audio. Here's how to remove the music while keeping the voice intact.
The challenge: Voice and music occupy overlapping frequencies. Traditional audio tools can't cleanly separate them. You need AI source separation.
The Quick Method: AI Audio Separation
The fastest way to remove music but keep voice:
Step 1: Extract Audio from Video
Before separating, you need the audio file:
Using Video Editing Software:
- Premiere Pro: Right-click clip → Unlink Audio, export audio
- DaVinci Resolve: Right-click → Link Clips (uncheck), export audio
- Final Cut Pro: Detach audio, export
Using Free Tools:
- VLC: Media → Convert/Save → Audio codec only
- FFmpeg:
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn audio.mp3 - Online converters (search "extract audio from video")
Step 2: Separate Voice from Music
- Go to StemSplit
- Upload your extracted audio file
- Click "Split Stems"
- Download the Vocals stem
The vocals stem contains only the voice — music, sound effects, and background noise are removed.
Step 3: Replace Audio in Your Video
Import the separated vocals back into your editing software:
Premiere Pro:
- Unlink original audio
- Delete music track
- Import vocals stem
- Align with video
DaVinci Resolve:
- Unlink audio
- Delete audio track
- Import vocals to new audio track
- Sync to video
Final Cut Pro:
- Detach audio
- Delete audio
- Import vocals
- Snap to clip start
Remove music from any video audio: StemSplit uses AI to separate voice from background music, giving you clean dialogue tracks.
Why Traditional Methods Don't Work
EQ Doesn't Separate — It Reduces
EQ (equalization) can boost or cut frequency ranges, but:
- Voice and music share the same frequencies
- Cutting music frequencies cuts voice too
- Result: muffled, unnatural dialogue
Noise Reduction Tools Are Wrong for This
Noise reduction is designed for:
- Constant background noise (AC hum, fans)
- Random noise (hiss, static)
Music isn't "noise" — it has structure and patterns that noise reduction can't handle cleanly.
Why AI Source Separation Works
AI models like Demucs (which powers StemSplit) are trained on thousands of songs where the original stems are known. They learn to recognize what "vocals" sound like vs. "music" regardless of frequency overlap.
Result: Clean separation that EQ can't achieve.
Alternative Methods (And Their Limitations)
Method 2: Adobe Podcast Enhance
Adobe's free tool can remove background music to some extent:
- Works decently for light background music
- Struggles with loud music
- Voice quality can degrade
- Not as clean as dedicated stem separation
Best for: Quick fixes where music isn't too prominent.
Method 3: iZotope RX
Professional audio repair software:
- Music Rebalance feature
- Very expensive ($400+)
- Steep learning curve
- Results similar to AI separation
Best for: Professional audio post-production studios.
Method 4: Center Channel Extraction
Technical approach where voice is often centered:
- Convert stereo to mono (left channel only)
- Compare to full mix
- Cancel common elements
Limitations:
- Only works if voice is perfectly centered
- Leaves stereo music artifacts
- Rarely produces clean results
Use Cases for Removing Music from Video
Repurposing Content
- Extract clips from copyrighted videos
- Use dialogue in new projects
- Create reaction videos without music DMCA issues
Film and Video Production
- ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) when original has music
- Clean dialogue for international dubbing
- Isolate takes with music bleed
Education and Presentations
- Extract lecture audio from event recordings
- Remove background music from interviews
- Clean up webinar recordings
Social Media
- TikTok clips without copyrighted music
- YouTube videos avoiding Content ID claims
- Instagram reels with original audio only
Tips for Better Results
Start with Quality Audio
- Higher bitrate = better separation
- Lossless formats (WAV, FLAC) > compressed (MP3)
- If possible, get the highest quality source
Music Volume Matters
AI separation works better when:
- ✅ Voice is louder than music
- ✅ Music isn't overwhelming dialogue
- ❌ Voice is barely audible under loud music
Post-Process the Result
After separation, you might want to:
- Light noise reduction for any artifacts
- EQ to enhance voice clarity
- Normalize audio levels
Complete Workflow Example
Scenario: Remove Background Music from Interview
- Export audio from video (WAV preferred)
- Upload to StemSplit and separate
- Download vocals stem
- Import to Premiere Pro
- Align with original video (use waveform matching)
- Delete original audio track
- Add background music you have rights to (optional)
- Export final video
Total time: 5-10 minutes depending on file size.
FAQ
Will it sound natural?
Modern AI separation is very good. For dialogue with moderate background music, results are nearly indistinguishable from original clean audio. Heavy music mixing with voice may have some artifacts.
Can I remove specific instruments but keep others?
Yes — AI stem separation typically gives you vocals, drums, bass, and other instruments separately. Remove what you don't want, keep what you do.
Does this work with any video file?
You need to extract the audio first. Any video format (MP4, MOV, AVI) can have its audio extracted, then processed, then reattached.
What about videos with multiple speakers?
AI separation isolates all voice from all music. It doesn't separate individual speakers — you'd need speaker diarization tools for that.
Is this legal for copyrighted content?
Extracting audio for personal use is generally fine. Redistributing copyrighted content (even with music removed) may still be infringement. Check your local laws and platform policies.
How long does processing take?
StemSplit processes about 1 minute of audio in 30-60 seconds. A 10-minute video takes roughly 5-10 minutes to process.
Common Issues and Fixes
Voice Sounds Muffled
Cause: Source audio was low quality. Fix: Use highest quality source available. Light EQ boost in voice frequencies (2-5kHz) can help.
Some Music Bleeds Through
Cause: Voice and music were very similar in frequency or volume. Fix: Process the separated audio with gentle noise reduction. Multiple processing passes can help.
Audio Doesn't Sync with Video
Cause: Audio was exported at different sample rate. Fix: Ensure export and import use same sample rate (usually 48kHz for video).
The Bottom Line
Removing music while keeping voice used to be nearly impossible without original source files. AI source separation has changed that — you can now extract clean dialogue from most videos in minutes.
The key is using the right tool. Generic noise reduction won't work. EQ won't work. You need AI models trained specifically on source separation.
Remove Music, Keep Voice
Extract clean dialogue from any video.
- ✅ AI-powered separation
- ✅ Keep voice, remove music
- ✅ Works with any audio
- ✅ Fast processing
