So you’ve heard someone say the word “Stems” and you are now curious as to what they are. A stem track is basically pre recorded material that you play along with in a live performance or church service. It’s function is to enhance the sound and flow of the song. Maybe there is a part that you want in the song that you are not able to play at the same time as another part. Like you might play the keyboard and might not have a live bass player but you want bass in the song or it might be a string part that you want to play as the song goes along. In this case you could pre-record the bass line or string part on your sequencer or in your computer recording software or DAW. And then during your performance you can play them back live and play along with them. The individual pre-recorded sound or sounds that you playback live are called a stems. Check out the video below for tips on how to prepare your stem tracks for church or performance.
Modern Musician Dictionary: What are Stems?
