How to Remove Drums From a Sample

Removing drums from a sample or track is a great way for audio creators to get a better feel for how a song is structured. Songs usually have a mix of different instruments like piano, bass, guitar, and, of course, drums. For beginners, learning by analyzing how other songs are put together is key, and sometimes that means isolating the drum sounds.

In this post, we’ll walk you through several ways to separate instrumental sounds — whether you’re using online tools or professional software.

Why Would Anyone Want to Remove Drums From a Track?

We’ve already mentioned that removing drums helps beginners or producers analyze the underlying structure of a song. Other than that, common justifications are:

• In remixing, getting rid of the drums lets you create a fresh rhythm section. You can replace the original drums with new sounds or experiment with different patterns and give the track a completely new vibe.
• It also works when making an acapella version of a song. This is especially useful if you want to showcase just the vocal performance, so removing the rhythm section that’s typically centered in the mix is a way to do so.
• If you're using a sample, you might want to remove the drums to reuse the instrumental part of the track. This is common in genres like hip-hop, where producers sample specific parts of songs but need the drums out of the way to create something new.
• If you’re reworking a song into a new genre, why not reshape the rhythm section? For example, you might replace acoustic drums with electronic beats or use a different type of percussion better suited to the new style.

Now, let’s get to work!

Remove Drums and Percussion With LALAL.AI

Here’s how to use LALAL.AI to separate percussion instruments and remove drums from any song or video, all in just a few steps:

1. Open LALAL.AI in your browser.
2. Click Vocal and Instrumental to access the separation options.
3. Choose Drums to specifically isolate drum sounds from your track.

4. Upload your file by selecting Select Files. LALAL.AI supports many audio and video formats, including MP3, WAV, FLAC, and MP4.
5. Listen to the preview. Use the mute icon to toggle different stems on and off, and press Play to hear the isolated result.
6. Click the settings icon, locate Enhanced Processing, and turn it off. Then, select Create New Previews to refresh the preview.
7. When ready, press Split in Full to finalize the separation.
8. Download your files by clicking Download All to save everything at once. You can also download each stem individually if preferred, and download links will be sent to your email.

How to Remove Drums From a Sample: FL Studio

If you’re looking for a more advanced audio editing tool, FL Studio is a great choice for Windows users. The latest version includes a stem separation feature that makes it easy to isolate different sounds, like drums, bass, and vocals, from your tracks:

1. Open FL Studio on your computer and drag your audio file into the workspace.
2. Next to the audio track, you’ll see a small triangle icon. Click on it to open more options.
3. In the options menu, find the Sample section and select Extract stems from a sample.

4. You’ll see a window with the option to extract different elements of the track, like drums, bass, instruments, or vocals. To remove the drums, check the Drums box.
5. Click the Extract button and wait while FL Studio processes the file. The drums will be separated from the rest of the track.
6. Once the extraction is done, mute the drum track and export the audio to your computer.

Is It Possible to Fully Remove Drums From a Song?

It depends on the track, for the most part. For example, if a song has separate tracks for drums (kick, snare, hi-hats, etc.), it’s much easier to remove the drums. 

In a track where the drums are panned centrally in the mix and blended with other instruments (like vocals or bass), you can try phase cancellation to reduce the drums, but it might also affect other elements in the center of the mix.

Isolating Drums from a Track in Ableton

Ableton allows you to turn audio clips into MIDI for more control over rhythms, melodies, and percussion in your track.

When you select an audio clip, you’ll see four conversion options in the Create menu or by right-clicking on the clip. One of the most helpful options is Convert Drums to New MIDI Track.

This command takes percussive sounds, like drums, and converts them into a new MIDI clip. Ableton will try to identify kick, snare, and hi-hat sounds and map them to the Drum Rack. Before converting, you can adjust the transient markers in the audio clip to control where the notes land in the new MIDI clip.

Here’s how to remove drums from a sample with Ableton once you have the converted clip:

1. Select the MIDI track with the converted drums.
2. Right-click on the track and choose Delete or press Delete on your keyboard.

This will remove the MIDI track but keep the rest of your project as is.

How to Remove Drums From a Sample: Audacity

There’s no direct tool in Audacity to remove vocals or specific elements from a mix, but you can use a technique called phase cancellation to reduce or remove certain parts of the track.

1. First, import your audio file into Audacity. Since most tracks are in stereo, make sure you can work with the left and right channels separately. Just drag and drop the file into Audacity to get started.
2. Select one of the channels, go to Effects, and click Invert. This flips the audio’s peaks and dips but doesn’t change how it sounds. 

3. Lower the volume of one channel and press play. You’ll notice elements begin to fade out due to phase cancellation. This may not work with every mix.
4. To refine the results, use an EQ to adjust the frequencies. Cut the frequencies you want to remove, which will be phased out. Leave the frequencies you want to keep, and they’ll remain in the mix.

How to Remove Drums From a Sample: Logic Pro X

Similarly to Audacity, you can remove drums from a sample in Logic Pro X with phase inversion and EQ. Here are instructions for doing it:

1. Drag and drop your audio file into Logic Pro X to get started.
2. If your sample is stereo, split the left and right channels. Right-click the audio track and select Split Stereo Track.
3. Invert one of the channels by selecting one of the channels (left or right) and going to Audio FX, then choose Phase Invert. This will cancel out center-panned elements like drums and vocals.

4. Apply an EQ to cut the low and mid frequencies where the drums sit by opening Channel EQ in the Audio FX section and cutting the low and mid frequencies (around 20Hz to 200Hz).
5. If needed, automate the track’s volume to lower or mute the drums in certain parts.
6. Once you’re satisfied, go to File > Bounce > Project or Section to export your sample.

Can You Copyright a Drumbeat? 

This is a bit out of left field, but it might be relevant for sound producers reading this. 

So, there have been many high-profile plagiarism cases about melodies and chord progressions, but drumbeats aren’t usually considered part of the copyrighted composition. The law typically protects lyrics, melodies, harmony, and rhythm, but drum patterns are often seen as “accompaniment” rather than key parts of the song.

The lack of protection for drumbeats actually benefits creativity. It allows artists to use common patterns without the fear of legal issues. However, if a drumbeat is combined with other unique elements — like a specific vocal melody or phrasing — it could be considered plagiarism.

As a producer, this means you have the freedom to either remove the drums or leave just the drums in your track — whatever fits your creative vision. Just make sure you're staying within legal bounds and avoid using copyrighted beats or patterns in ways that could lead to plagiarism.

Wrap Up

For an easier online method, check out LALAL.AI. It’s a simple tool that helps you isolate or remove drums from a track in a few clicks. If you need more control or advanced features, you can always finish the process in specialized software later. Hopefully, this helps!