Bluegrass Backing Tracks
From Real Instruments
Build chord charts for any bluegrass song and play them back as a full band of real recorded instruments — guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, and spoons — in your key, at your tempo.
What it does
Everything you need.
Nothing you don't.
Jam Trainer is built around one idea: you should be able to sit down with any bluegrass song and have a full band ready to play it with you.
Already using Strum Machine?
Same price. A bigger band.
Both cost $5 a month or $49 a year, and both work offline at the jam. Here's what Jam Trainer adds.
| What you get | Jam Trainer | Strum Machine |
|---|---|---|
| A banjo in the bandScruggs-style rolls with the 5th-string drone | ✓ | — |
| Tab that plays with the bandBanjo, guitar or mandolin tab, note for note, at any tempo | ✓ | — |
| Jam Session syncEveryone in the circle follows one chart on their own device | ✓ | — |
| Chords over the lyricsEach chord sits on its word and scrolls as the band plays | ✓ | Notepad only |
| Practice tools built inTuner with drone, metronome, chord & scale charts, ear-training games | ✓ | — |
| Price | $5/mo · $49/yr or $149 once |
$5/mo · $49/yr |
Based on Strum Machine's published features, September 2026.
A look inside
See your bluegrass backing tracks in action
Four views, one song — switch between them any time as you practice or lead a jam.
Play View
Big chords you can read across the room
The Play view sizes every chord to fill the screen, so you can prop a phone or tablet on a music stand and still read the chart while the backing track rolls. Because your hands stay on the instrument, nothing needs tapping in the middle of a song.
Chord Chart Editor
Build a chart for any song in minutes
Tap in chords, split measures, set sections and repeats, then change the key or capo on the fly. For example, you can lay out a full A and B part, and the band follows your chart exactly when you press play.
Tab View
Playable tab, right alongside the band
Load a tab and Jam Trainer plays it note-for-note with the rest of the band — banjo, guitar, or mandolin. However you learn, you can watch the tab track in time, or slow it down until the hammer-ons and pull-offs sit right.
Lyrics View
Chords over the words, on a teleprompter
Singing lead? The Lyrics view stacks each chord over the exact word it lands on and scrolls hands-free while you play. So you can lead a tune without ever losing your place in the verse.
Built for pickers, by pickers
Practice at home.
Ready at the jam.
Jam Trainer was built by bluegrass pickers who wanted a better way to practice and keep chord charts handy at a jam. Every design decision came from actually using it — on a phone, on a tablet, with a pick in the other hand.
- Screen stays on during playback — no tapping needed while you play through a song
- Large tap targets work well on a phone or tablet
- Bluetooth page-turner pedal support built in
- Survives being briefly backgrounded when you check a text
- Over 1,100 songs in the shared library to get you started
New here?
See it in action
Watch this quick overview and you'll be building your first backing track in minutes.
▶ Watch on YouTubeQuestions & Answers
Bluegrass backing tracks, explained
A few common questions about how Jam Trainer works.
What is Jam Trainer?
Jam Trainer is a browser app that turns any chord chart into full bluegrass backing tracks. Because every part is stitched together from real recorded instruments — guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, and spoons — the result sounds like a real band rather than MIDI. You build the chart once, then play along in your own key and at your own tempo.
Do I need an internet connection at the jam?
No. All of the instrument samples cache to your device the first time you load the app, so the bluegrass backing tracks keep playing even with no signal. For example, you can take it to a festival campsite or a basement jam and everything still works offline.
Can I change the key and the tempo?
Yes. Every song plays in any key and at any speed, so you can slow a fiddle tune down to learn it and then bring it back up to jam speed. In addition, an auto speed-up mode nudges the tempo a little faster each time through, which is a great way to build up a break.
What instruments play in the backing band?
Five: guitar, upright bass, mandolin, banjo, and spoons. You can mute or bring up any of them, because sometimes you want just bass and mandolin to work on your timing, and other times you want the whole band driving behind you.
Can I use it to lead a jam?
Absolutely. With Jam Session Sync, everyone in your picking circle follows the same chord chart in real time on their own device. That way beginners never lose their place, and the person leading can move through the tune while the whole group stays together.
How is this different from Band-in-a-Box or generic backing tracks?
Most tools were not built for this music. Jam Trainer's bluegrass backing tracks use real acoustic recordings and bluegrass-specific parts — Scruggs-style banjo rolls, a walking bass, and a mandolin chop on the backbeat. However, it stays simple enough to build a chart in about a minute, so you spend your time playing instead of programming.
What does it cost?
Eight songs are free to play, with no account needed at all — open the app and you will have a backing track running in minutes. A subscription opens the full shared library of over 1,100 tunes and everything you build yourself: $5 a month, $49 a year, or $149 once for a Founding Member lifetime account. New accounts start with a 14-day free trial — a card is required to start it, and nothing is charged until the trial ends.
Your next jam starts here.
Open the app and one of eight free songs will have a full bluegrass backing track running in minutes — no install, no account. Subscribe to play the whole 1,100-song shared library.
Start Playing Free →Works on iPhone, iPad, Android, and desktop