record vocals with music playing and your lyrics open on iphone

choose what the microphone will hear

• Phone speaker: you hear the music in the room. The microphone can pick it up along with your voice. Useful for a rough live sketch, not a clean mixed master.
• Headphones: you hear the music privately, reducing its acoustic pickup. The exported take still does not include the instrumental digitally. Your audio route can affect which microphone is used.

If you need separate editable tracks or a finished vocal-and-music mix, use a multitrack recording app. Memo Track is for getting the take down.

the one-phone workflow

1. Open your lyrics in Notes, Inkpad, or another text app. Put the part you want to read on screen.
2. Open Memo Track. Tap Choose Track and select your MP3, WAV, M4A, or AAC file. If it is still in Google Drive, start here.
3. Preview the music, adjust its volume, and move to the point where you want the take to start.
4. Press Record. Allow microphone access if asked. The selected backing track starts if it is paused, or continues if it is already playing.
5. Switch to your lyrics app and record your part. Leave Memo Track running in the background; do not swipe it away from the app switcher.
6. Return to Memo Track and stop the recording. Pause the backing track separately if you want silence for playback.
7. Play the new take under Saved Takes. Share the M4A to Files or another destination when you want to keep a copy outside the app.

Make a brief throwaway take with your actual speaker or headphone setup before an important performance. Check both the saved sound and the app-switching behavior.

if your music is already playing in another app

Importing is optional. With no imported track selected, start the music in its own app, open Memo Track, press Record, and switch to your lyrics.

The other app must support background playback alongside microphone recording. Memo Track cannot make an incompatible player continue. If it stops, import an audio file you can export instead. Use Remove Track first if an old imported track is still selected.

Music stopped, the route changed, or a call interrupted the take?

do you need memo track just to read notes?

No. Apple documents that Voice Memos can record while another app is open, provided that app does not play audio. This workflow is about having the backing music playing as well. Apple's recording guide explains that distinction.

Apple also offers layered recording on supported iPhone models. Choose the tool that matches the recording you actually want.