It's commonly used for practice or rehearsal purposes, allowing musicians to focus on a specific part of the music without the full accompaniment. Backing tracks or accompaniments are created with minus-one versions, giving flexibility to performers and enhancing the learning process.
For instance, a band might create a minus-one track of their song, leaving out the guitar part, making it available to guitarists who want to practice and improvise their own guitar solos over the pre-recorded music.
Minus-one tracks are also valuable in music education and collaborative efforts, enabling musicians to work on timing, phrasing, and intonation independently while still having the context and support of the backing track.
Overall, minus-one music serves as a useful tool for musicians to refine individual performances and enhance their practice routines.