SoundManager 2: Live API Demos and Code Examples
Author: Scott Schiller
Description: Live API demos and code examples for SoundManager 2, Javascript Sound method calls and functions etc.
Keywords: javascript sound library api

# SoundManager 2 / API Demo and Code Examples

You can run the API demos with HTML5 enabled, Flash 8 (API default), Flash 9 (normal) or Flash 9 + highPerformance + fastPolling modes (higher JS callback frequency).

Wondering where to start? This page has inline executable code examples using the SoundManager 2 API.

If you're wondering "How to include SM2 in my page?", the basic template will get you started.

## The `soundManager.setup()` method

In order to configure SoundManager 2 for use, you must first call the `setup()` method. The `url` property and an `onready` function callback are commonly used together here.

    soundManager.setup({

        // where to find the SWF files, if needed
        url: '/path/to/swf-directory/',

        // if you'd rather have 100% HTML5 mode (where supported)
        preferFlash: false,

        onready: function() {
          // SM2 has loaded, API ready to use e.g., createSound() etc.
        },

        ontimeout: function() {
          // Uh-oh. SWF missing, Flash blocked or other issue
        }

    });

SoundManager processes the `onready` and `ontimeout` queue in the order items were added. You can also add callbacks via `soundManager.onready()` and `soundManager.ontimeout()`, respectively. If you add listeners for these events after SM2 has loaded, your callback will be fired immediately.

## A note about initialization

Keep in mind SoundManager's core methods (createSound, etc.) will not be available until soundManager's `onready()` event fires. The initialization time for SM2 can vary across browsers/platforms, and should effectively be assumed to be "asynchronous." Because of this, it is recommended you write your code to handle `onready` being fired either before or after window.onload().

If you wish to have SM2 always wait for window.onload() before calling `onready()` or `ontimeout()`, you can pass `waitForWindowLoad: true` to `soundManager.setup()`.

## Debug Output, disabling and minified versions

SoundManager 2 has debug mode enabled by default and will write to agents supporting console.log-style debugging, and/or a custom <div> element in the absence of a console.

To disable debug output, pass `debugMode: false` to `soundManager.setup()`.

Alternately, you may use the no-debug, minified version of the SM2 javascript library (which has internal debug code removed, and will silently return false.)

## Demo 1: Create + play a sound

    var mySound = soundManager.createSound({
     url: '../mpc/audio/CHINA_1.mp3'
    });
    mySound.play();

Creates a new sound object with a `url`, and calls its `play()` method.

Note: It is recommended you make one sound object per `url`, generally speaking, that you wish to play. Expressed another way: "Reduce, reuse, recycle."

### Variant: Create + play sound with an `id`

    soundManager.createSound({
     id: 'mySound2',
     url: '../mpc/audio/CHINA_1.mp3'
    });
    soundManager.play('mySound2');

Creates a new sound object with the given `id`, and then calls `soundManager.play()`, specifying the `id` of the desired sound.

If omitted, an `id` will be automatically generated. If a sound object with the provided `id` already exists, the existing object will be returned.

Cases for providing your own `id`

The `id` parameter is optional, but makes sound objects easier to look up. It's also helpful when the object returned from `createSound()` wasn't stored, or isn't in scope. Calling `soundManager.getSoundById('mySound2')` will return the matching sound object, or `null` if none is found.

`soundManager.play()` and related convenience methods take an `id` string, and call the method on the given sound object. Thus, `soundManager.play('foo')` is functionally equivalent to `soundManager.getSoundById('foo').play()`

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Unless you need to track separate instances of a sound playing simultaneously, it's best to create and re-use one sound object for each unique sound resource (URL) you have. If you want to play a single sound multiple times, layered on top of itself in an overlapping/chorus style, look at the `multiShot` sound option (Flash 9 + HTML5 only).

## Demo 2: Create with `onfinish` event handler + play with volume argument

    var demo2Sound = soundManager.createSound({
     url: '../mpc/audio/CHINA_1.mp3',
     onfinish: function() {
       soundManager._writeDebug(this.id + ' finished playing');
     }
    });
    demo2Sound.play({
      volume: 50
    });

(creates, then plays a new sound - a function is called when the sound finishes playing)

## Demo 2a: Create with `onload` event handler

    soundManager.createSound({
     url: '../mpc/audio/CHINA_1.mp3',
     // callback for when the sound has loaded
     onload: function() {
       soundManager._writeDebug(this.id + ' loaded');
       this.play();
     }
    }).load();

This creates and loads a sound, using the `onload` event callback to begin playback once the sound has loaded.

## Demo 2b: Create and load with `whileloading` event handler

    soundManager.createSound({
     url: 'http://freshly-ground.com/data/audio/mpc/20060826%20-%20Armstrong.mp3?rnd=' + Math.random(),
     // begin loading right away
     autoLoad: true,
     whileloading: function() {
       soundManager._writeDebug(this.id + ': loading ' + this.bytesLoaded + ' / ' + this.bytesTotal);
     }
    });

This creates and auto-loads a sound, showing load progress where applicable.

## Demo 3: Play a pre-existing sound by `id`

    soundManager.play('aDrumSound');

This plays an existing sound made earlier using `soundManager.createSound()`, specifying an `id` parameter of `aDrumSound`.

Alternately, you can reference a sound by `id` and call methods directly on the object itself - for example, `soundManager.getSoundById('aDrumSound').play();`

## Demo 4a: Play a sequence of sounds via `onfinish`, with `multiShot` (Flash 9 + HTML5 only)

    soundManager.play('aDrumSound', {
      // allow onfinish() to fire for each "shot", instead of only last shot
      multiShotEvents: true,
      onfinish: function() {
        soundManager.play('aCymbalSound');
      }
    });

This will play an existing sound (created in-page), and uses the `onfinish()` callback to play a second, pre-existing sound.

Also note that the button can be clicked multiple times, and the sound will be "layered" as multiShot is enabled for both of these sounds when using Flash 9 or HTML5. An onfinish event will also fire as each sound finishes.

Bug/behaviour note: Whenever "play" is called on a SMSound object, any parameters passed in will apply to all currently-playing instances of the sound if multiShot is allowed. For example, the onfinish handler from demo 4a will apply to demo 3 if 4a is started while 3 is still playing.

* Multishot is Flash 9+ and HTML5 only.

## Demo 4b: Create and play a sequence of new sounds via `onfinish()`

    soundManager.createSound({
     id: 'aBassDrum',
     url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_BD_1.mp3',
     multiShot: false,
     // when the first sound finishes...
     onfinish: function() {
       // create and play the second.
       soundManager.createSound({
         id: 'aRimSound',
         url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_RIM1.mp3'
       }).play();
     }
    });
    soundManager.play('aBassDrum');

This will create and play a new sound, using the `onfinish()` callback to create and play a second, new sound.

Note that `createSound()` will return an existing sound object if one already exists with the given `id`. You can test this by running the demo more than once.

## Demo 4c: Looping a sound (conventional, `onfinish()`-based)

    var s = soundManager.createSound({
      id: 'hhCymbal',
      url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_HHOP.mp3'
    });

    function loopSound(sound) {
      sound.play({
        onfinish: function() {
          loopSound(sound);
        }
      });
    }

    loopSound(s);

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Note that there are issues with seamlessly-looping sounds, it is "close, but not perfect" with Flash 8/9 at this point.

## Demo 4d: Looping a sound (`loops` parameter method)

    var s = soundManager.createSound({
      id: 'hhCymbal',
      url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_HHOP.mp3'
    });

    s.play({
      loops: 3
    });

|

Looping is possible as shown above using Flash 9. With flash 8, the sound must be preloaded before looping can begin - eg. `autoLoad: true, onload: function() { this.play{loops: 3} }`. For tighter looping, see See Seamless Looping MP3 in Flash for further details.

HTML5 support note: Native HTML5 looping is infinite when enabled, and does not support arbitrary loop counts. For now, consider using your own function with `onfinish()` -> `play()` if you want to loop a sound a certain number of times. Refer to the above `onfinish()` example for a basic idea.

## Demo 4e: Sound timing notifications using `onPosition()`

    var s = soundManager.getSoundById('aCymbalSound'); // existing sound object

    // register some listeners (only do this once, they will work for subsequent plays)

    if (typeof addedListeners === 'undefined') {
      addedListeners = true;

      s.onPosition(500, function(eventPosition) { // fire at 0.5 seconds
        soundManager._writeDebug('Sound ' + this.id + ' has reached position ' + eventPosition);
      });

      s.onPosition(1000, function(eventPosition) { // fire at 1 second
        soundManager._writeDebug('Sound ' + this.id + ' has reached position ' + eventPosition);
      });
    }

    s.play({
      multiShot: false,
      whileplaying: function() {
        // demo only: show sound position while playing, for context
        soundManager._writeDebug('position = ' + this.position);
      }
    });

`onPosition()` allows you to add an event listener for a given time (in miliseconds, watching the position property); the event fires when that time has been reached while a sound is playing.

Note that for multiShot cases, the listeners will only fire for the original (first) shot because its position is the only one that is tracked within Flash.

## Demo 4f: Sound timing with `onPosition()` and `clearOnPosition()`

    var s = soundManager.getSoundById('aCymbalSound'); // existing sound object

    // clear listeners from prior demo, if they were assigned...

    if (typeof addedListeners !== 'undefined') {

      soundManager._writeDebug('Removing previous demo listeners...');
      s.clearOnPosition(500); // remove 500 msec listener
      s.clearOnPosition(1000); // remove 1000 msec listener

    }

    s.onPosition(750, function(eventPosition) { // fire at 0.75 seconds

      soundManager._writeDebug('Sound ' + this.id + ' has reached position ' + eventPosition);
      // and now, remove the listener using the eventPosition specified in this callback
      // so next time the sound plays, this listener will not fire
      this.clearOnPosition(eventPosition);

    });

    s.play({
      whileplaying: function() {
        // demo only: show sound position while playing, for context
        soundManager._writeDebug('position = ' + this.position);
      },
      onfinish: function() {
        // when the sound finishes, play it once more to show that the listener does not fire.
        soundManager._writeDebug('Playing once more, onPosition() should not fire');
        this.play({
          onfinish: function() {
            soundManager._writeDebug('"' + this.id + '" finished.');
          }
        });
      }
    });

When `onPosition()` is used, a listener is added and a callback is fired when the sound reaches the desired position. To remove the listener, `clearOnPosition()` is called using the same position value.

## Demo 4g: Sound splicing / sampling with `from:` and `to:` parameters

    var spliceDemo = soundManager.createSound({
      id: 'spliceSound',
      url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_HHOP.mp3'
    });

    // optional: stop before re-starting sound (covers overlapping play attempts)
    spliceDemo.stop();

    spliceDemo.play({
      // start position
      from: 500,
      // end position
      to: 1200,
      onstop: function() {
        soundManager._writeDebug('sound stopped at position ' + this.position);
        // note that the "to" target may be over-shot by 200+ msec, depending on polling and other factors.
      }
    });

|

By specifying "from" and "to" parameters to methods like play() and createSound(), you may play a sample (or segment) of audio from a larger file. An audio "sprite" of one file with many sounds is one way to think of this. Given timing accuracy of the "to" target may vary a lot, it is safest to have perhaps 500-msec gaps of silence between distinct sounds to ensure that no accidental overlaps occur.

To tighten the accuracy of the "to" timing, try using soundManager.useHighPerformance.

If HTML5 audio is being used, the sound should begin playing once a "canplay" event fires (after a connection has established), and the sound will then seek to the correct start position. When using flash, the whole audio file will be loaded before playback can begin.

Given limitations, Flash 9's multiShot (chorusing) mode does not apply here. If you wish to trigger a sound numerous times, call stop() before play() to reset the sound each time, or make multiple sound objects that reuse the same sprite.

## Demo 4g: "Fitter, Happier" example using `from:` and `to:` parameters

Portions of a sound can be played by specifying from and to when calling `play()`. This can be useful for performance, i.e., having an "audio sprite" that loads in a single HTTP request.

    var fhDemo = soundManager.createSound({
      url: 'http://freshly-ground.com/data/audio/sm2/fitter-happier-64kbps.mp3'
    });

    function playFromTo(nFrom, nTo) {
      fhDemo.stop(); // optional: stop before re-starting sound (covers overlapping play attempts)
      fhDemo.play({
        from: nFrom,
        to: nTo,
        onstop: function() {
          soundManager._writeDebug('sound stopped at position ' + this.position);
          // note that the "to" target may be over-shot by 200+ msec, depending on polling and other factors.
        }
      });
    }

    function fitterHappier() {
      playFromTo(128, 2100);
    }

    function moreProductive() {
      playFromTo(2500, 3850);
    }

    function comfortable() {
      playFromTo(4275, 5200);
    }

    function notDrinkingTooMuch() {
      playFromTo(5500, 7250);
    }

    function regularExerciseAtTheGymThreeDaysAWeek() {
      playFromTo(7500, 11500);
    }

    function atEase() {
      // interesting edge case: flash may cut off sound near end.
      // workarounds: use play({position:x}), or specify "to" time > duration eg. 99999.
      playFromTo(11600, 99999);
    }

    // demo-specific hack: assign to the window object, so demo buttons work
    window.fitterHappier = fitterHappier;
    window.moreProductive = moreProductive;
    window.comfortable = comfortable;
    window.notDrinkingTooMuch = notDrinkingTooMuch;
    window.regularExerciseAtTheGymThreeDaysAWeek = regularExerciseAtTheGymThreeDaysAWeek;
    window.atEase = atEase;

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## Demo 5a: Set sound parameters, then play

    // predefined/preloaded sound
    var sound = soundManager.getSoundById('chinaCymbal');

    // volume at 85%
    sound.setVolume(85);

    // 0.25 seconds into sound
    sound.setPosition(250);

    // pan 75% to the left
    sound.setPan(-75);

    // begin playback with new settings
    sound.play();

This will set the position and pan of an existing, pre-loaded sound, then play it. Where applicable, these settings become the new defaults for the sound.

### `play()` with sound options

    var sound = soundManager.getSoundById('chinaCymbal');
    sound.play({
      volume: 100,
      position: 0,
      pan: 75
    });

This is an elegant way of playing a sound with specific parameters "just one time", overriding the defaults applied when the sound was created.

Note that if planning to layer sounds with multiShot (Flash 9 only), this variant method will give best results as each new "channel" is started with parameters.

## Demo 5b: Global sound muting

If not passed a sound ID, soundManager.mute() will mute all existing and newly-created sounds. soundManager.unmute() can also be passed a sound ID, and performs the inverse either on a single sound or all sounds.

In this demo, all sounds are globally muted and unmuted a few times. Different parameters are used to help audibly separate the sounds.

    soundManager.mute(); // mute all sounds

    soundManager.createSound({
     id: '880hz',
     url: '../_mp3/880hz.mp3',
     autoLoad: true,
     onload: function() {
       // soundManager.mute(); // mute all sounds
       // play (muted) cymbal sound..
       this.play({
         volume: 75, // volume for when un-muted
         pan: -75,   // mostly on left channel
         // .. and clean-up afterwards
         onfinish: function() {
           this.destruct();
         }
       });

       this.setVolume(25); // new volume for when un-muted..

       soundManager.play('s440hz', {
         pan: 75,
         onfinish: function() {
           document.getElementById('btn-d5b').disabled = false;
         }
       });

       // once playing, toggle all sounds some more
       setTimeout(soundManager.unmute, 500);
       setTimeout(soundManager.mute, 1000);
       setTimeout(soundManager.unmute, 1500);
       setTimeout(soundManager.mute, 2000);
       setTimeout(soundManager.unmute, 2500);
     }
    });

## Demo 5c: Per-object sound muting

    soundManager.createSound({
     id: '880hz',
     url: '../_mp3/880hz.mp3',
     autoLoad: true,
     onload: function() {
       soundManager.mute('880hz'); // mute this - alternately, this.mute() would work here
       soundManager.play('s440hz', { // play another sound to demo muting
        onfinish: function() {
          document.getElementById('btn-d5c').disabled = false;
        }
       });

       // play 880hz (muted)..
       this.play({
         volume: 75,
         // .. and clean-up afterwards
         onfinish: function() {
           this.destruct();
         }
       });

       this.setVolume(50); // still muted, however..

       // mute/unmute china cymbal some more
       // mute sound calls: soundManager.mute('880hz'), or soundManager.getSoundById('880hz').mute();
       setTimeout(this.unmute, 250);
       setTimeout(this.mute, 500);
       setTimeout(this.unmute, 750);
       setTimeout(this.mute, 1000);
       setTimeout(this.unmute, 1250);
     }
    });

## Demo 6: Create, play, unload and destroy a sound

    var foo = soundManager.createSound({
     id: 'fooSound',
     url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_BD_1.mp3'
    });

    // soundManager.play('fooSound');

    // (Some time later on...)
    // soundManager.unload('fooSound'); - release the loaded MP3
    // soundManager.destroySound('fooSound'); - destroy the sound, freeing up memory etc. Also calls unload().

    // Alternate (demo) approach, call methods directly on sound object itself:
    foo.play({
     onfinish: function() {
       // once sound has loaded and played, unload and destroy it.
       this.destruct(); // will also try to unload before destroying.
     }
    });

## Demo 7: Create, manually pre-load and finally play a sound

    var preload = soundManager.createSound({
      id: 'preloadSound',
      url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_HHOP.mp3'
    });

    // load the sound ahead of time
    preload.load({
      // and start playing it at onload
      onload: function() {
        this.play();
      }
    });

## Demo 8: Create and play an invalid sound (404)

    var bad = soundManager.createSound({
      id: 'badSound',
      url: 'badurl.mp3',
      onload: function(bSuccess) {
        soundManager._writeDebug('sound '+(bSuccess?'loaded!': 'did NOT load.'));
      }
    });
    bad.play();

## Demo 9: Create and destroy a sound at once (unusual crash testcase)

    var s = soundManager.createSound({
      url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_HHOP.mp3'
    });
    s.play();
    s.destruct();

## Demo 10: Sound timing (position accuracy testcase)

The Flash 9 version seems to resume the sound 1 msec earlier than it should, perhaps related to the timing/delay issue most noticeable on Windows.

    var count = 0;
    var pos = -1;
    var s = soundManager.createSound({
      url: '../mpc/audio/CHINA_1.mp3',
      whileplaying: function() {
        if (count == 0) {
          if (this.position > 1000) {
            this.pause();
            pos = this.position;
            count++;
            this.resume();
          }
        } else if (count == 1) {
          soundManager._writeDebug('old position: ' + pos);
          soundManager._writeDebug('new position: ' + this.position);
          // See that this.position is less than pos!
          count++;
        }
      },
      onfinish: function() {
        this.destruct();
      }
    });
    s.play();

## Demo 11: Inline `whileplaying()` event assignment

Note that when using the Flash 9 version of SM2 with Flash 9 and 10 plugins, flash/OS-related delay conditions may result in the `position` property being less than the `duration` property, even by the end of the sound.

    var foo = soundManager.createSound({
      url: '../mpc/audio/CRASH_1.mp3'
    });
    foo.options.whileplaying = function() {
      soundManager._writeDebug('whileplaying(): '+this.position+' / '+this.duration);
    }
    foo.play();

    // note: assign .options before calling .play(), as that "bakes" the options into a play instance object.
    // the below "late" event handler assignment will have no effect on the already-playing instance.
    foo.options.onfinish = function() { soundManager._writeDebug(this.id + ' stopped.'); }

## Demo 12: 48 KHz MP3 sampling rate playback issue workaround

To work around a known "chipmunk" sampling rate issue with 48 KHz MP3s in Flash, one can apparently load a sound using Flash 9 with stream = false, and then call play() once the sound has fully-loaded. Exactly why this works is not known.

    var fortyeight = soundManager.createSound({
      url: 'http://freshly-ground.com/data/audio/48khz-test.mp3'
    });

    if (!fortyeight.loaded) {
      // first time loading/playing
      fortyeight.load({
        stream: false,
        onload: function() {
          // sound has fully-loaded
          this.play();
        }
      });
    } else {
      // sound has already loaded
      fortyeight.play();
    }

## Demo 13: `autoLoad:true` + `play()` testcase

Bug testcase (Flash 8 version-specific): creating a sound with autoLoad:true and immediately calling play() does not work.

    var autoLoadTest = soundManager.createSound({
       id: 'autoLoadTest',
       url: getRandomMP3URL(),
       onload: function() {
    	soundManager._writeDebug(this.id + ' loaded.');
       },
       onplay: function() {
         soundManager._writeDebug('Starting sound: '+this.id);
       },
       autoPlay: false,
       autoLoad: true,
       stream: true
      });
      // autoLoadTest.play(); // sound will not start
      setTimeout(autoLoadTest.play,1000); // may work with a delay?

Under Flash 8, this case does not work as expected. Even with the delay, the sound does not begin playing as soon as expected - sometimes it fires after the sound loads, in fact. For this reason, avoid using `autoLoad:true` if you intend to play the sound shortly after creating it when using Flash 8.

## Demo 14: `autoPlay` + `onfinish()` testcase

Bug testcase (Flash 8 version-specific): onfinish() does not fire with autoPlay:true

    var sound = soundManager.createSound({
     id: 'demo14',
     url: '../mpc/audio/AMB_SN13.mp3',
     onfinish: function() {
      soundManager._writeDebug(this.id + ' finished (now destroying)');
      // destroy this sound
      this.destruct();
     },
     autoPlay: true,
     multiShot: false
    });

## Demo 15: `onstop()` -> `unload()` testcase

Bug testcase: unload() from onstop() does not work

    var sound16 = soundManager.createSound({
     id: 'demo15',
     url: getRandomMP3URL(),
     onstop: function() {
      soundManager.unload(this.id);
     },
     onload: function() {
       soundManager._writeDebug('loaded');
     }
    });
    sound15.play();
    setTimeout(sound15.stop, 1500);

## Demo 16: Buffering event handler/property example (Flash 9 only)

Reporting the isBuffering property of a SMSound object

    if (soundManager.flashVersion != 8) {
      var sound16 = soundManager.createSound({
        id: 'demo16',
        url: getRandomMP3URL(),
        onbufferchange: function() {
          soundManager._writeDebug('Buffering '+(this.isBuffering?'started': 'stopped')+'.');
        },
        onload: function() {
          soundManager._writeDebug(this.id + ' loaded.');
        }
      });
      sound16.play();
    }

## data: URIs (HTML5 only, experimental)

Subject to browser support, a data: URI should work when provided to a native HTML5 `Audio()` instance.

You should not use this unless you know what you're doing and are willing to rely only on HTML5 support.

Additionally, data: URIs appear not to work on mobile devices (iOS: iPad, iPhone in particular.)

IE 9 + 10 do not support WAV under HTML5 `Audio()`. In addition to being the only major browser lacking .WAV support, irony is not lost on the fact that MSFT co-created the WAV/RIFF spec with IBM. (See yonder.)

    if (soundManager.html5) {
      soundManager.createSound({
        // explicit type, SM2 doesn't detect MIME type in data: URIs yet
        type: 'audio/wav',
        // view source (or console) for the full URI.
        url: getWaveDataURI()
      }).play();
    }

N/A

## SoundManager 2: Live API Demos

See your JS console for live debug/log output.

### Getting Started

- - `soundManager.setup()` (url, onready etc.)
  - Create + play a sound
  - `soundManager.play()`
  - `play()` with sound options
  - Debug output, minified versions

  ### Basic Events

  - Loading: `onload()` event
  - Load progress: `whileloading()` event
  - Play with `onfinish()`
  - Looping with `onfinish()`
  - `CreateSound()` and `play()` with events
  - play() with `multiShotEvents`
  - Looping via `loops`
  - Buffering: `onbufferchange()`, `isBuffering`

  ### Timing / Audio Sprites

  - Timing notifications via `onPosition()`
  - Timing: `onPosition()` + `clearOnPosition()`
  - Sound splicing with `from` + `to`
  - "Fitter, Happier" demo using `from` and `to`
  - Sound position accuracy test

  ### Miscellaneous

  - Muting a single sound
  - Muting all sounds
  - Create, play, unload, destroy
  - Playing a 404 (bad URL)

### Debug / Console Logging

This is live debug output; use your JS console for best detail.