Can BandLab make a beat for my vocal? SongStarter explained

What SongStarter does, and what it does not

BandLab calls SongStarter an AI-powered idea generator with pre-made, customisable song ideas across genres. Its help page describes the whole flow (BandLab Help Center, 19 Jun 2026):

On the web, click Create on the BandLab home page and choose SongStarter; in the mobile app, open it from the Studio’s Discover tab.
Pick a genre and click Generate.
Change the genre, mood, tempo and key at the top, and switch between three variations.
Click Regenerate for new ideas, then Save as Project or Edit in Studio.

Everything it starts from is a setting you choose. The help page names no way to hand it a recording, so the idea does not follow your vocal: its tempo and key are the ones you typed. If those differ from your take, the beat and the vocal drift apart or clash, however good each one sounds alone.

One more line on that page matters if you plan to release the song: you will not own the rights to the generated track, but you can use it without paying fees or royalties to its original creator.

How to put a beat under your vocal in BandLab

Know your vocal’s tempo and key first. Everything else is set to match them. The free BPM and key finder reads both in your browser; watch for half or double tempo readings, such as 70 instead of 140.
Import the vocal. In a new project, click Import Audio/MIDI at the bottom of the New Track page; in an open project, drag the file into the Studio. BandLab notes that an imported file can start with a few seconds of silence, and that you can drag the region’s start back to the faint dotted line (BandLab Help Center).
Set the project to the vocal’s tempo and key. Then any loop, drum pattern or SongStarter idea you add arrives at the right speed.
Bring in the beat. A SongStarter idea set to the same tempo and key, loops from BandLab Sounds, a pattern from the Drum Machine, or a beat licensed from BandLab Beats, which you can pull straight into the Studio (BandLab Help Center).
Line it up by ear. Put the beat’s first downbeat under the vocal’s first strong beat, then listen to the whole song. A vocal sung without a click speeds up and slows down a little, and a fixed-tempo beat will not follow it. That is the hard part, and the reason to record to a click next time.
Balance and export. Bring the vocal up until every word is clear, then export the mix.

Step 2 follows BandLab’s help page; the order and the advice are ours.

The closest BandLab gets: Audio-to-MIDI, then Layer

Two membership tools come closest to building music from your vocal:

Audio-to-MIDI uses AI to turn a voice, instrument or drum recording into a MIDI track. BandLab’s tips are a clear recording without background noise and one voice per recording. It is part of the membership (BandLab Help Center, 11 Mar 2026).
Smart Tools, Layer generates chords, bass and drums for a MIDI region, and BandLab says it is especially helpful when you start with just a melody. Also part of the membership (BandLab Help Center, 11 Mar 2026).

So a member can convert the sung melody to MIDI, apply Layer to that MIDI, and keep the original vocal on its own track. Two cautions. Turning a voice into notes is approximate, so expect to fix wrong or missing notes before Layer has a clean melody to build on. And BandLab’s pages do not say how closely Layer follows the timing of a sung melody; we have not tested it.

The membership: Pro is $14.99 a month after a 3-day free trial, or $99 for the first year and $149 a year after that. Max is sold yearly for now, $199 for the first year and $299 after (BandLab Membership FAQ, 5 Oct 2026). Pro also includes AutoMix and Voice Cleaner, and 10 BandLab Beats claims a week.

BandLab and a tool that hears your vocal, side by side

Lyro Music is one tool that takes the vocal recording itself as the input for the beat. Here is how the two compare for this one job. BandLab’s column comes from its help centre, read on 10 October 2026; Lyro’s from our beat for your vocal and pricing pages.

	BandLab	Lyro Music, a beat for your vocal
What the music starts from	SongStarter: a genre, mood, tempo and key you set. Layer (members): a MIDI melody	Your vocal recording
Does it hear your vocal?	SongStarter: no. Audio-to-MIDI turns its melody into notes for Layer (members)	Yes: the instruments are generated with the recording as input
Tempo and key	You set them	Detected in the browser; you can correct them
What you get back	Loops, MIDI and audio parts you arrange in the Studio	One track of instruments (drums, bass and other parts), opened in the mixer next to your vocal
Your vocal	Stays on its own track	Stays untouched on its own track
Cost	The Studio and SongStarter are free; Audio-to-MIDI and Smart Tools need a membership, from $14.99 a month	Any plan: Starter is $14 a month for 80 credits; a beat costs one credit per started minute, at least 5 credits. No free plan
Rights	SongStarter: you do not own the generated track but may use it without fees or royalties. BandLab Beats: a non-exclusive licence for 10 years	Lyro claims no rights in what you upload or make; every paid plan includes commercial use

The BandLab Beats terms are on its help page: licences are non-exclusive, run for 10 years, and are not refundable (BandLab Help Center, 5 Oct 2026). That SongStarter is free is from BandLab’s AI Tools page, and the app is listed free, with in-app purchases, on the App Store.

Which one fits your job

BandLab is likely the better fit if:

you want to spend nothing, and you are happy to arrange the beat yourself;
you want to learn how a beat is put together, part by part;
you want a producer’s beat with a written licence, from BandLab Beats;
you already pay for Pro and want to try Audio-to-MIDI and Layer on your melody.

A tool that hears your vocal, such as Lyro, is likely the better fit if:

you want the instruments written to your take, not lined up against it by hand;
you would rather get an audio track of instruments than MIDI to arrange;
you want to balance, add effects and master in the same place, with WAV export.

Lyro has no free plan, and the instruments will not always be what a producer would have written: plan on a few attempts and some mixing. A vocal sung with no steady pulse is hard for any tool. Other AI tools also build music around a vocal you upload: see apps and AI tools that add a beat to your vocals.

Before you start, whatever you use

Record to a click. Sing to a metronome in headphones. Every route on this page works better with a steady tempo, the manual one most of all.
Record dry. No reverb, no echo and no music playing in the room. Background sound confuses tempo detection, Audio-to-MIDI and AI tools alike.
Start near the first word. Trim long silence at the start so the first beat is easy to find.
Clear the rights. Use a vocal you wrote and sang, or one you have permission to use, and keep the licence of any beat you did not make.

The full walk-through, from recording on a phone to mastering, is in how to make a beat for your vocal.

Questions

Can BandLab add a beat to my vocals automatically?

Not in one step. SongStarter starts from a genre, mood, tempo and key you choose, not from your recording (BandLab Help Center). Members can get closer: Audio-to-MIDI turns the sung melody into MIDI, and Smart Tools’ Layer adds chords, bass and drums to it.

Can I upload my own vocal to BandLab?

Yes. Import it into the Studio with the Import Audio/MIDI button on the New Track page, or drag the file into an open project (BandLab Help Center). Then you add and line up the beat yourself.

Is BandLab SongStarter free?

Yes. BandLab’s AI Tools page calls it a free AI music generator. Audio-to-MIDI and Smart Tools are part of the paid membership, from $14.99 a month.

Do I own a beat I make with SongStarter?

No, by BandLab’s own note: you will not own the rights to the generated track, but you can use it without paying fees or royalties to its original creator (BandLab Help Center). What you write and record yourself on top is yours.

How much does BandLab Pro cost?

$14.99 a month after a 3-day free trial, or $99 for the first year and $149 a year after that. Max is $199 for the first year and $299 after, yearly only for now (BandLab Membership FAQ).

Is there an AI that makes a beat from my vocal?

Yes, several take the recording itself as input. Lyro is one: it detects the tempo and key of your vocal, writes drums, bass and other parts around it, and keeps your vocal untouched on its own track. It costs one credit per started minute, at least 5 credits, on every plan. See a beat for your vocal and the list of apps and AI tools.

Can BandLab make a beat for your vocal? What it really does