You always wanted to play on a famous record. Maybe you wanted to play the flute like Ian Anderson on “Aqualung,” wail away on the bass à la John Entwistle on “The Real Me,” or bang out that legendary cowbell riff on “Don’t Fear The Reaper.” You wanted to be that guitarist, that drummer, that keyboard player, that bell ringer on that great song.

Now you can. Thanks to DreamMusician.com, you can play in your favorite band, and do it all in the privacy of your own home. What’s more, you don’t need an air guitar or a make-believe drum kit. The real instruments will do quite nicely.

Think of it as karaoke for the instrumentally inclined. At Dream Musician you download songs that filter out whatever instrument you want to play. Then it’s all up to you and your ax. Or your drums, your synth or your horn. With Dream Musician, you too can play with the stars.

Or, you can just download the instrumental passage you’re interested in. That way you can focus only on the part you want to play instead of having to mentally filter out all those other instruments that just get in the way of your concentration.

Dream Musician recently launched with 500 tracks licensed from Universal Music Group and plans on adding about 50 tracks per week. Each WMA-formatted download will cost you two bucks, but $18 will buy you a compilation of the same song with different instruments removed from each copy. You know, for those moments when you feel like starting your own one-man band.

Aside from rockin’ with the big boys and girls, Dream Musician also lays down an environment where aspiring musicians can learn from the masters. Maybe that’s why two major instrument manufacturers – Roland and Yamaha – were so quick to partner up with the new music service. After all, you’re going to need an instrument to jam with.

A portion of Dream Musician sales will benefit organizations active in promoting music, such as Music Educators National Conference, the National Association of Music Manufacturers and VH1 Save The Music. Make no mistake about it. While other music sites promote listening to music, Dream Musician is about playing music.

“Yamaha is proud to sponsor Dream Musician,” said Tahan Billias, director of marketing for Yamaha. “Dream Musician’s services are unprecedented. Never before has a company enabled any musician to actually play in their favorite band.”