Our review of Stage Traxx 3
stagetraxx.com | Back to Articles & Resources
The EAGA Gospel Choir sings across the country and internationally at concerts, weddings, conferences, funerals, school workshops, community and charity events, and much more.
The purpose of this article is to share some useful tips with the wider choir communities on resources we use. We use a range of equipment and software apps to support the choir in rehearsals, performances, and day-to-day operations. We hope to publish many more articles that you may find helpful in the future.
Music at Rehearsals and Performance
Whenever possible, we prefer singing with a live band. You simply cannot replicate the feel, energy, and dynamics that a live band brings. However, over the past few years, it has not always been possible to use a live band, and as a result, we have increasingly relied on backing tracks.
This is not uncommon. On TV programmes which we took part in, such as Britain’s Got Talent and the BBC’s Songs of Praise Choir of the Year, backing tracks are often used to acommpanying the choir performances.
The use of music backing tracks
Ideally, backing tracks are best managed by a professional PA technician using their preferred software. However, this is not always practical, as it requires the technician to cue the choir at the right moments. For smaller events, or where no PA technician is available, we have sometimes had to manage the playback ourselves.
In the past, we experimented with playing audio tracks using Apple Music, or directly from the phone as audio files, and even via the player in WhatsApp groups containing lists of songs because we wanted audio files to be available to a core team. None of these solutions were suitable for a busy choir like ours. For groups or individual singer that may not be experienced in managing backing tracks themself, we highly recommend Stage Traxx 3.
Stage Traxx 3 – Overview
We have found Stage Traxx 3 to be one of the most suitable apps for playing backing tracks at both rehearsals and performances. You can find more information on the Stage Traxx website. The app is currently at version 3, with version 4 close to completion and expected in early 2026.
Stage Traxx is available on Apple iOS and macOS only. It is an audio playback app designed specifically for musicians. We are not sure how many choirs use it in the way we do, so please do let us know if you do too.
The app is also very affordable, priced at $24.99 in the US and the same price in pounds in the UK. The free version has limited features but more than adequate to get you started. For example it allows you to work with 6 backing tracks.
There are many features but to name just a few:
- Audio playback
- iCloud and local file backup
- Shared network sessions
- Audio equalizer and basic editor
- Play list oraganiser
- Lyrics viewer
- App can be shared in Apple family group. Good for team access.
Main Uses in Choir Rehearsals
We use Stage Traxx for both choir rehearsals and performances. During rehearsals, we play tracks with and without specific harmony parts. However the tracks for the individual harmony parts must be created first for this to work. Our music director kindly takes the time to create the background tracks and vocals for all harmony parts which he shares to the choir members and uploads on stage traxx. This provides an excellent way for choir members to learn their parts quickly by ear. We also like to set regions on the tracks where we can loop on specific parts which we need to focus.
Another useful feature in Stage Traxx is the adding of lyrics and chords to the tracks. The lyrics can be time-stampped so that the text is scrolled in sync as the the music is played, making it easy for everyone to follow along as they sing. The text in the lyrics can be also be formatted too. As seen in the image above we add in to the lyrics comments which the choir members find useful as prompts on specific segments (e.g. comments on when to come in, key changes, crescendo and much more). This is useful when shared as a PDF document, which is easy to do in Stage Traxx.
The lyrics can also be shared in live mode as the track is played, which provides an in-sync viewing of the lyrics with highlighted lines. This is great too when sharing between multiple devices on the same network. This was designed for band members who are playing together, but we found this useful for projecting the lyrics on a screen in the room and having more than one ipad in a room shared between choir members,
Main Uses in Choir Performances
In performances, Stage Traxx really comes into its own. We play backing tracks either through a PA system or, for smaller settings, via Bluetooth speakers. The volume and equaliser (see right image above) can be controlled directly from the app. Backing tracks can also be organised by keyword, which is especially useful when we need to select and play tracks in an ad-hoc way. This allows for smooth transitions and stress-free playback during live performances.
I hope you found this article helpful. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions by emailing tech@el-eaga.com.
