Class AudioClip

java.lang.Object

javafx.scene.media.AudioClip

public final class AudioClip extends Object

An AudioClip represents a segment of audio that can be played with minimal latency. Clips are loaded similarly to Media objects but have different behavior, for example, a Media cannot play itself. AudioClips are also usable immediately. Playback behavior is fire and forget: once one of the play methods is called the only operable control is stop(). An AudioClip may also be played multiple times simultaneously. To accomplish the same task using Media one would have to create a new MediaPlayer object for each sound played in parallel. Media objects are however better suited for long-playing sounds. This is primarily because AudioClip stores in memory the raw, uncompressed audio data for the entire sound, which can be quite large for long audio clips. A MediaPlayer will only have enough decompressed audio data pre-rolled in memory to play for a short amount of time so it is much more memory efficient for long clips, especially if they are compressed.

Example usage:


     AudioClip plonkSound = new AudioClip("http://somehost/path/plonk.aiff");
     plonkSound.play();

Since:: JavaFX 2.0

Property Summary

Type	Property	Description
`DoubleProperty`	`balance`	The relative left and right volume levels of the clip.
`IntegerProperty`	`cycleCount`	The number of times the clip will be played when `play()` is called.
`DoubleProperty`	`pan`	The relative "center" of the clip.
`IntegerProperty`	`priority`	The relative priority of the clip with respect to other clips.
`DoubleProperty`	`rate`	The relative rate at which the clip is played.
`DoubleProperty`	`volume`	The relative volume level at which the clip is played.

Field Summary

Modifier and Type	Field	Description
`static final int`	`INDEFINITE`	When `cycleCount` is set to this value, the `AudioClip` will loop continuously until stopped.

Constructor Summary

Constructor	Description
`AudioClip(String source)`	Create an `AudioClip` loaded from the supplied source URL.

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method	Description
`DoubleProperty`	`balanceProperty()`	The relative left and right volume levels of the clip.
`IntegerProperty`	`cycleCountProperty()`	The number of times the clip will be played when `play()` is called.
`double`	`getBalance()`	Get the default balance level for this clip.
`int`	`getCycleCount()`	Get the default cycle count.
`double`	`getPan()`	Get the default pan value.
`int`	`getPriority()`	Get the default playback priority.
`double`	`getRate()`	Get the default playback rate.
`String`	`getSource()`	Get the source URL used to create this `AudioClip`.
`final double`	`getVolume()`	Get the default volume level.
`boolean`	`isPlaying()`	Indicate whether this `AudioClip` is playing.
`DoubleProperty`	`panProperty()`	The relative "center" of the clip.
`void`	`play()`	Play the `AudioClip` using all the default parameters.
`void`	`play(double volume)`	Play the `AudioClip` using all the default parameters except volume.
`void`	`play(double volume, double balance, double rate, double pan, int priority)`	Play the `AudioClip` using the given parameters.
`IntegerProperty`	`priorityProperty()`	The relative priority of the clip with respect to other clips.
`DoubleProperty`	`rateProperty()`	The relative rate at which the clip is played.
`void`	`setBalance(double balance)`	Set the default balance level.
`void`	`setCycleCount(int count)`	Set the default cycle count.
`void`	`setPan(double pan)`	Set the default pan value.
`void`	`setPriority(int priority)`	Set the default playback priority.
`void`	`setRate(double rate)`	Set the default playback rate.
`final void`	`setVolume(double value)`	Set the default volume level.
`void`	`stop()`	Immediately stop all playback of this `AudioClip`.
`DoubleProperty`	`volumeProperty()`	The relative volume level at which the clip is played.

Methods declared in class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Property Details

volume

public DoubleProperty volumeProperty

The relative volume level at which the clip is played. Valid range is 0.0 (muted) to 1.0 (full volume). Values are clamped to this range internally so values outside this range will have no additional effect. Volume is controlled by attenuation, so values below 1.0 will reduce the sound level accordingly.

See Also:

balance

public DoubleProperty balanceProperty

The relative left and right volume levels of the clip. Valid range is -1.0 to 1.0 where -1.0 gives full volume to the left channel while muting the right channel, 0.0 gives full volume to both channels and 1.0 gives full volume to right channel and mutes the left channel. Values outside this range are clamped internally.

See Also:

rate

public DoubleProperty rateProperty

The relative rate at which the clip is played. Valid range is 0.125 (1/8 speed) to 8.0 (8x speed); values outside this range are clamped internally. Normal playback for a clip is 1.0; any other rate will affect pitch and duration accordingly.

See Also:

pan

public DoubleProperty panProperty

The relative "center" of the clip. A pan value of 0.0 plays the clip normally where a -1.0 pan shifts the clip entirely to the left channel and 1.0 shifts entirely to the right channel. Unlike balance this setting mixes both channels so neither channel loses data. Setting pan on a mono clip has the same effect as setting balance, but with a much higher cost in CPU overhead so this is not recommended for mono clips.

See Also:

priority

public IntegerProperty priorityProperty

The relative priority of the clip with respect to other clips. This value is used to determine which clips to remove when the maximum allowed number of clips is exceeded. The lower the priority, the more likely the clip is to be stopped and removed from the mixer channel it is occupying. Valid range is any integer; there are no constraints. The default priority is zero for all clips until changed. The number of simultaneous sounds that can be played is implementation- and possibly system-dependent.

See Also:

cycleCount

public IntegerProperty cycleCountProperty

The number of times the clip will be played when play() is called. A cycleCount of 1 plays exactly once, a cycleCount of 2 plays twice and so on. Valid range is 1 or more, but setting this to INDEFINITE will cause the clip to continue looping until stop() is called.

See Also:

Field Details

INDEFINITE

public static final int INDEFINITE

When cycleCount is set to this value, the AudioClip will loop continuously until stopped. This value is synonymous with MediaPlayer.INDEFINITE and Animation.INDEFINITE, these values may be used interchangeably.

See Also:

Constructor Details

AudioClip

public AudioClip(String source)

Create an AudioClip loaded from the supplied source URL.

Parameters:: source - URL string from which to load the audio clip. This can be an HTTP, HTTPS, FILE or JAR source.
Throws:: NullPointerException - if the parameter is null.; IllegalArgumentException - if the parameter violates RFC 2396.; MediaException - if there is some other problem loading the media.

Method Details

getSource

public String getSource()

Get the source URL used to create this AudioClip.

Returns:: source URL as provided to the constructor

setVolume

public final void setVolume(double value)

Set the default volume level. The new setting will only take effect on subsequent plays.

Parameters:

value - new default volume level for this clip

See Also:

getVolume

public final double getVolume()

Get the default volume level.

Returns:

the default volume level for this clip

See Also:

volumeProperty

public DoubleProperty volumeProperty()

Returns:

the volume property

See Also:

setBalance

public void setBalance(double balance)

Set the default balance level. The new value will only affect subsequent plays.

Parameters:

balance - new default balance

See Also:

getBalance

public double getBalance()

Get the default balance level for this clip.

Returns:

the default balance for this clip

See Also:

balanceProperty

public DoubleProperty balanceProperty()

Returns:

the balance property

See Also:

setRate

public void setRate(double rate)

Set the default playback rate. The new value will only affect subsequent plays.

Parameters:

rate - the new default playback rate

See Also:

getRate

public double getRate()

Get the default playback rate.

Returns:

default playback rate for this clip

See Also:

rateProperty

public DoubleProperty rateProperty()

Returns:

the rate property

See Also:

setPan

public void setPan(double pan)

Set the default pan value. The new value will only affect subsequent plays.

Parameters:

pan - the new default pan value

See Also:

getPan

public double getPan()

Get the default pan value.

Returns:

the default pan value for this clip

See Also:

panProperty

public DoubleProperty panProperty()

Returns:

the pan property

See Also:

setPriority

public void setPriority(int priority)

Set the default playback priority. The new value will only affect subsequent plays.

Parameters:

priority - the new default playback priority

See Also:

getPriority

public int getPriority()

Get the default playback priority.

Returns:

the default playback priority of this clip

See Also:

priorityProperty

public IntegerProperty priorityProperty()

Returns:

the priority property

See Also:

setCycleCount

public void setCycleCount(int count)

Set the default cycle count. The new value will only affect subsequent plays.

Parameters:

count - the new default cycle count for this clip

See Also:

getCycleCount

public int getCycleCount()

Get the default cycle count.

Returns:

the default cycleCount for this audio clip

See Also:

cycleCountProperty

public IntegerProperty cycleCountProperty()

Returns:

the cycleCount property

See Also:

play

public void play()

Play the AudioClip using all the default parameters.

play

public void play(double volume)

Play the AudioClip using all the default parameters except volume. This method does not modify the clip's default parameters.

Parameters:: volume - the volume level at which to play the clip

play

public void play(double volume, double balance, double rate, double pan, int priority)

Play the AudioClip using the given parameters. Values outside the ranges as specified by their associated properties are clamped. This method does not modify the clip's default parameters.

Parameters:: volume - Volume level at which to play this clip. Valid volume range is 0.0 to 1.0, where 0.0 is effectively muted and 1.0 is full volume.; balance - Left/right balance or relative channel volumes for stereo effects.; rate - Playback rate multiplier. 1.0 will play at the normal rate while 2.0 will double the rate.; pan - Left/right shift to be applied to the clip. A pan value of -1.0 means full left channel, 1.0 means full right channel, 0.0 has no effect.; priority - Audio effect priority. Lower priority effects will be dropped first if too many effects are trying to play simultaneously.

isPlaying

public boolean isPlaying()

Indicate whether this AudioClip is playing. If this returns true then play() has been called at least once and it is still playing.

Returns:: true if any mixer channel has this clip queued, false otherwise

stop

public void stop()

Immediately stop all playback of this AudioClip.

© 2008, 2025, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Documentation extracted from JavaFX API Documentation.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2, with the Classpath Exception.
Java, JavaFX and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.