Picker’s Guide ToolsBeta
Backing Track Builder
Type in any chord progression and a real bluegrass rhythm section — flatpicked guitar, upright bass, mandolin chop — plays it back in any key, at any tempo, for as long as you want to practice.
Click any measure to set its chord — letters (G, Em, D7, Bb, F#m) or Nashville numbers (1, 4, 2m, b7). Sevenths, dim and aug work too; fancier extensions are voiced as the closest plain chord. Two chords in one bar: type both, like G D; - keeps the bar on the previous chord. Tab jumps to the next bar. The strip under the chord box handles structure: beats in the bar (a 2-beat “push” bar works), inserting a bar before or after, or deleting one — and each section header sets how many bars sit on a line. While the band plays, clicking a bar jumps playback there — stop to edit, or drag across bars to loop them.
That’s the 30-second preview
The full backing track builder — unlimited playback, any key, any tempo — is part of Picker’s Guide membership, along with the practice player and backing bands for the whole bluegrass catalog.
Become a memberBuild your own backing track in about a minute
Click any measure in the chart and type a chord — plain letters like G, Em, or A7, or Nashville numbers like 1, 4, and 5 if you think that way. Press Tab and you’re in the next bar; keep typing and tabbing and an eight-bar progression takes about twenty seconds to enter. Want two chords in one bar? Type them both: G D. Press play and the band comes in on your changes.
Sections work the way a song does, not the way a loop pedal does. Name them whatever you like — verse, chorus, A-part, “the weird bit” — set how many times each one repeats, and the band plays the whole form top to bottom and cycles it. An AABB fiddle-tune form is two sections with two repeats each; done.
A band that follows the chart, not a recording
This isn’t a time-stretched loop. The track is generated from your chord chart every time you press play, by the same sampled band that backs songs in the Picker’s Guide practice player: boom-chuck guitar with real ring-out, upright bass alternating root and fifth (turn on Bass runs for walking approaches into the changes), and mandolin chop on the off-beats. Because the band is reading your chart rather than replaying audio, everything stays clean:
- Any tempo, no artifacts. Drop to 60 BPM to woodshed a break and it sounds like a band playing slow, not a recording underwater.
- Any key, instantly. Change the key and the chart transposes with it — the letters update, the band follows. Take that jam standard from G to B without thinking.
- Jump anywhere. While the band plays, click any bar and playback jumps there — or use a section’s play button to drill just that part. Stop, click a bar, and you’re editing it.
- Waltz time too. Flip to 3/4 and the whole band re-phrases — boom on one, chucks on two and three.
What it’s for
- Learn a song by its changes. Type the progression from memory or a songbook and drill it slow before the jam plays it fast.
- Practice breaks over a real groove. A metronome keeps time; a band tells you whether your lines actually sit in the pocket.
- Write and test progressions. Trying an original? Hear the form played back honestly before you bring it to the band.
- Teach. Set a student’s tune at their tempo, in their key, and let them play along with a rhythm section that never gets bored.
Backing tracks for the whole catalog
This page is the blank-sheet version of something Picker’s Guide members use every day: the practice player, where every song in the bluegrass catalog already has its chart entered, its lyrics on screen, and this same band ready to play it — plus recorded versions, section looping, a speed trainer, and practice tracking. If the song you’re about to type in is a bluegrass standard, odds are it’s already in there.
Membership gets you the full backing track builder — unlimited playback, any key, any tempo — and the practice player across the catalog. The preview here gives you 30 seconds of playback per visit to hear the band for yourself.
Questions about the backing track builder
What is a backing track builder?
Sometimes called a backing track maker or generator: a tool that turns a chord progression into a full rhythm section you can play along with. Type in the chords of any song, press play, and a band — guitar, upright bass, and mandolin — plays your changes at whatever tempo and in whatever key you choose, looping until you stop.
How do I build my own backing track?
Click any measure in the chart and type a chord — G, Em, A7, or Nashville numbers like 1 and 4. Add measures and sections as you go, name the sections whatever you like, and set how many times each one repeats. Press play and the band follows your chart. Changing the key transposes the whole chart instantly.
What does the band sound like?
A real bluegrass rhythm section, built from sampled instruments: boom-chuck flatpicked guitar, upright bass (with optional walking runs), and mandolin chop. It is the same band that powers the Picker’s Guide practice player — deterministic, loopable, and clean at any tempo, because it is generated from your chart rather than stretched from a recording.
Can I change the key or the tempo?
Yes — any of the twelve keys, and any tempo from 40 to 180 BPM, including while the band is playing. Because the track is generated live from the chord chart, there are no time-stretch artifacts at slow practice tempos and no pitch weirdness when you transpose.
Do I need an account to use it?
You can build a chart and hear a 30-second preview without one. The full tool — unlimited playback, any key, any tempo — is part of Picker’s Guide membership, which also gets you the practice player and backing bands for the whole bluegrass song catalog.
Are my backing tracks saved?
Your chart is saved automatically in your browser, so it is there when you come back on the same device. For a permanent library of songs with chords, lyrics, and backing bands, the Picker’s Guide catalog and practice player are the long-term home.
