# Strum Machine - Backing Tracks — For bluegrass, fiddling, etc.

> Customizable backing tracks for bluegrass and fiddle music practice. (iPhone/iPad app by Luke Abbott LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/strum-machine-backing-tracks/id1509158553 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Luke Abbott LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1509158552)
- Category: Music, Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.70/5 from 118 App Store ratings · 61 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.4 · 77 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2020-07-08
- Data updated: 2026-08-29
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/strum-machine-backing-tracks/id1509158553/reviews.md

## What is Strum Machine?

Elevate your music practice with customizable backing tracks generated with audio from real instruments (guitar, mandolin, and standup bass).

Strum Machine can play any chord progression, in any key, at any speed. It's the only backing-track app built specifically for players of bluegrass, old-time, fiddle tunes, and other such genres. (Although it works pretty good for some jazz/swing now, too!)

Why musicians of all levels love Strum Machine:

• Realistic Sound: Backing tracks are assembled in real time from studio-quality instrument recordings.
• Quick Adjustments: Instantly adjust the speed/tempo, change the key, loop part of a song, etc.
• Auto-Speedup: Gradually increase the BPM at the end of every repetition for training purposes.
• Chord Reference: Clean, beautiful chord charts, which can be displayed in letters or numbers (i.e. "1-4-5").
• Extensive Library: Over 1,300 songs (mostly from bluegrass and old-time) ready to go, with thousands more posted on the community forum.
• Simple Song Editor: Add your own songs (or edit existing ones) in minutes. Almost every chord you can play on a guitar is available for use.
• Customize the Band: Choose from a variety of built-in band styles, then optionally customize each instrument individually – adjust the strumming pattern, add automatic bass runs, and more.
• Organize & Share: Create song lists for practicing or even performing, and share them with your friends or on the community forum.
• Cross-Platform: Sync your custom songs, lists, and preferences with any device you use Strum Machine on: phone, tablet, or computer. (It works offline, too!)
• Responsive Support: If you run into any problems or have questions, write us an email or post a message on the forum and someone will get back to you within a few days!

Strum Machine is under active development and we're always working on ways to make the app even more useful to our users... while keeping it uncluttered and intuitive first and foremost.

Discover how Strum Machine can improve your music practice today! Download Strum Machine and play a handful of demo songs instantly, without signing up. For the full experience, including access to all built-in songs and the ability to create your own, start a free trial.

Terms of Use: https://strummachine.com/terms
Privacy Policy: https://strummachine.com/privacy

## Key features

- Realistic instrument audio backing tracks
- Customizable chord progressions, keys, and tempo
- Extensive song library
- Simple song editor
- Band and instrument customization
- Cross-platform syncing and offline mode

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $4.99 | per month |


## Chart rankings

- #173 in Top Grossing · Music (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (10 of 61)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/strum-machine-backing-tracks/id1509158553/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Practice

*2026-06-23, version 1.444.7*

This is not just a practice app it gives you the motivation to play. As a banjo player all the help is appreciated

### 5/5 — A great way to practice

*2026-06-21*

I always hated practicing music in a void, as music is meant to be played with others. This is a great way to practice alone! Looking forward to seeing how far they take this app. Well worth it. Also helpful to pull up a chord chart for someone if you are playing and they don’t know the chords.

### 5/5 — No Longer Login -fixed

*2026-06-17*

Updating- support was awesome and got me logged in, and next day updated the app.  

After updating today I can no longer log in using the app subscription function… and I’m at a festival! Pretty disappointing.

Otherwise when it worked, it’s a great practice aid.

**Developer response:** I’m very sorry about this! Many users were logged out as an unexpected side effect of a necessary migration. I apologize for the interruption. Please email us if you haven’t already and we’ll help you get logged back in ASAP.

### 5/5 — Must download for Bluegrass players. The only app you will need

*2026-06-08, version 1.425.0*

I’ve been using backing tracks for 10 years mainly off of YouTube. Downloaded countless apps. None have the ease of use of this app. It’s simple. Yet you can edit settings change strum patterns to every instrument. Mute instruments if needed. However the one thing I hope to see them add is the ability to change the instruments for an individual section of a song like after so many bars you could have a light strum to the guitar or just have the bass play but then go back to the normal settings. Please make this happen Luke

### 5/5 — Phenomenal!

*2025-12-02, version 1.425.0*

What a joy! The adjustments you can make to the instruments is remarkable, like the amount of swing, anticipating or dragging the beat, types of walking bass; great for jamming and also for teaching and demonstrating these musical subtleties. Thank you!

### 5/5 — Great app

*2025-11-30*

Great app for practicing with. Thanks.

### 5/5 — My soulmate for sure!

*2025-10-06*

I use this every day.  It is simple to use.  It was recommended by a friend.  We have spread the news.  Luke answers any questions one might have, almost instantly.  My music teacher is so pleased that I constantly make use of such a great tool.

### 5/5 — It’s my practice companion

*2025-09-19*

I was an early user, and Luke is absolutely the best developer that I’ve ever experienced. He’s a bluegrass musician, so he knows how the app should function from the users perspective. Always squashing bugs quickly and delivering timely feature enhancements. You won’t be disappointed.

### 4/5 — Excellent Customer Service, great practice tool.

*2025-09-18, version 1.425.0*

I would like to give this App 5 stars, however, I am not a fan of the subscription model. Aside from that an excellent practice tool.

### 5/5 — Love this app

*2025-09-07, version 1.422.0*

I hate subscriptions, but I’ve made an exception with Strum Machine. I’m working on my mandolin chops, and Strum Machine has been really helpful getting up (lol) to speed!

## Frequently asked questions about Strum Machine

### What does Strum Machine do?

Strum Machine generates customizable backing tracks using realistic audio from real instruments like guitar, mandolin, and standup bass. It's designed for practicing music, especially genres like bluegrass and old-time, allowing users to play any chord progression, in any key, at any speed.

### What are the key features of Strum Machine?

Key features include realistic sound from studio-quality instrument recordings, quick adjustments for speed, key, and looping, an auto-speedup function for training, chord charts, an extensive song library, a simple song editor, band customization, song list organization, and cross-platform syncing that works offline.

### How much does Strum Machine cost?

The app offers a free trial for the full experience, including access to all built-in songs and the ability to create your own. Users can play a handful of demo songs instantly for free without signing up. Further access and features are unlocked through in-app purchases.

### What devices is Strum Machine compatible with?

Strum Machine is cross-platform and can sync your custom songs, lists, and preferences across any device you use, including phones, tablets, and computers. It also functions offline, ensuring you can practice anywhere.

### Who is Strum Machine intended for?

This app is primarily for musicians of all levels who play genres like bluegrass, old-time, and fiddle tunes. It's also suitable for jazz and swing musicians. It's ideal for anyone looking to enhance their music practice with realistic and customizable backing tracks.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.450.5 — 2026-08-20

This update includes a variety of bug fixes and minor improvements. See Settings > About in the app for the full release notes.

### 1.450.1 — 2026-08-06

This update includes a variety of bug fixes and minor improvements. See Settings > About in the app for the full release notes.

### 1.449.1 — 2026-08-01

This update includes a variety of bug fixes and minor improvements. See Settings > About in the app for the full release notes.

### 1.446.0 — 2026-06-26

Some users were reporting that the app froze upon playback. This update should fix that issue, among other minor fixes and improvements.

### 1.444.7 — 2026-06-14

Improvements to the login form. Unfortunately, many users found themselves logged out after the previous update, due to some very necessary infrastructure upgrades. We've tried to streamline the process for getting logged back in with this update.

Here's a summary of what we released in the last big update:

- New Playback Interface: Redesigned to give you faster access to the most useful settings.
- Easier BPM Controls on Phones: Try out our brand new "BPM dial" on your phone!
- New App Settings Page: All settings now in one place, with room to grow.
- Dark Mode: Go to Settings → Appearance to enable Dark mode, or have it follow your system theme.

Plus a whole bunch of smaller additions and improvements, including:

- Design Refresh: Improved contrast and readability, more consistent UI, smoother animations, and so on.
- Metronome: Go to the Metronome menu on any song page to enable it. You can also toggle it and adjust volume in the "Audio/Mix" menu.
- Count-in Delay: Give yourself time to pick up your picks or bow before the count-in starts.
- Shorter 1-Bar Count-in: Want to give yourself less time to prepare before the downbeat comes? This option is for you!
- Silence in the Count-in: Leave space to play the pickup notes in your kickoff! (Also a useful workaround if your Bluetooth speaker tends to drop the first beat.)
- Count-in Metronome: You can toggle the metronome as a count-in sound now. (It will only play during the count-in unless enabled in the Metronome menu.)
- Adaptive Count-in Volume: Count-in volume now matches the instrumentation by default. You can still set a manual volume if you want.
- Pan Controls for Count-in and Metronome: Find them in the Audio/Mixer settings page.
- Hear Sounds on Rests: New togglable setting to hear the beat during rests. (I'll be improving the sound sample soon.)
- Relative Minor Chord Numbers: Do you want the root chord of minor songs to be 6m and not 1m? Enable this setting under Chart & Display!

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## Related topics

[strum machine](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/strum-machine) · [bluegrass](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bluegrass) · [backing track builder](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/backing-track-builder) · [strumming](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/strumming) · [strummer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/strummer) · [backing track](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/backing-track) · [guitar backing tracks](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/guitar-backing-tracks) · [music backing tracks](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/music-backing-tracks) · [backing tracks](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/backing-tracks)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*