Interactive navigable audio visualization using Web Audio and Canvas.
Create an instance:
var wavesurfer = Object.create(WaveSurfer);
Initialize it with a container element (plus some options):
wavesurfer.init({ container: '#wave', waveColor: 'violet',
progressColor: 'purple' });
Subscribe to some events:
wavesurfer.on('ready', function () { wavesurfer.play(); });
Load an audio file from a URL:
wavesurfer.load('example/media/demo.wav');
See the example code here.
container– CSS-selector or HTML-element where the waveform should be drawn. This is the only required parameter.height– the height of the waveform.128by default.skipLength– number of seconds to skip with theskipForward()andskipBackward()methods (2by default).minPxPerSec– minimum number of pixels per second of audio (1by default).fillParent– whether to fill the entire container or draw only according tominPxPerSec(trueby default).scrollParent– whether to scroll the container with a lengthy waveform. Otherwise the waveform is shrinked to container width (seefillParent).normalize– iftrue, normalize by the maximum peak instead of 1.0 (falseby default).pixelRatio– equalswindow.devicePixelRatioby default, but you can set it to1for faster rendering.audioContext– use your own previously initializedAudioContextor leave blank.cursorWidth– 1 px by default.markerWidth– 1 px by default.waveColor– the fill color of the waveform after the cursor.progressColor– the fill color of the part of the waveform behind the cursor.cursorColor– the fill color of the cursor indicating the playhead position.dragSelection– enable drag selection (trueby default).loopSelection– whether playback should loop inside the selected region (trueby default). Has no effect ifdragSelectionisfalse.interact– whether the mouse interaction will enabled at initialisation (trueby default).
All methods are intentionally public, but the most readily available are the following:
init(params)– initializes with the options listed above.on(eventName, callback)– subscribes to an event.load(url)– loads an audio from URL via XHR. Returns XHR object.getDuration()– returns the duration of an audio clip in seconds.getCurrentTime()– returns current progress in seconds.play()– starts playback from the current position.pause()– stops playback.playPause()– plays if paused, pauses if playing.stop()– stops and goes to the beginning.skipForward()skipBackward()seekTo(progress)– seeks to a progress [0..1].seekAndCenter(progress)– seeks to a progress and centers view [0..1].skip(offset)– skips a number of seconds from the current position (use a negative value to go backwards).setVolume(newVolume)– sets the playback volume to a new value (use a floating point value between 0 and 1, 0 being no volume and 1 being full volume).toggleMute()– toggles the volume on and off.mark(options)– creates a visual marker on the waveform. Options areid(random if not set),position(in seconds),colorandwidth(defaults to the global optionmarkerWidth). Returns a marker object which you can update later. (marker.update(options)).clearMarks()– removes all markers.clearRegions()– removes all regions.empty()– clears the waveform as if a zero-length audio is loaded.destroy()– removes events, elements and disconnects Web Audio nodes.region(options)– creates a region on the waveform. Options areid(random if not set),startPosition(in seconds),endPosition(in seconds) andcolor. Returns a region object which you can update later.toggleLoopSelection()– toggles whether playback should loop inside the selection.toggleScroll()– toggles scroll on parentgetSelection()– returns an object representing the current selection. This object will have the following keys:startPercentage(float between 0 and 1),startPosition(in seconds),endPercentage(float between 0 and 1) andendPosition(in seconds). Returnsnullif no selection is present.updateSelection({ startPercentage, endPercentage })– create or update a visual selection.enableInteraction()– Enable mouse interactiondisableInteraction()– Disable mouse interactiontoggleInteraction()– Toggle mouse interactionsetPlaybackRate(rate)– sets the speed of playback (0.5is half normal speed,2is double speed and so on).playPauseSelection()– plays selection if paused, pauses if playing.
You can insert your own Web Audio nodes into the graph using the
method setFilter. Example:
var lowpass = wavesurfer.backend.ac.createBiquadFilter();
wavesurfer.backend.setFilter(lowpass);
You can listen to the following events:
ready– when audio is loaded, decoded and the waveform drawn.loading– fires continuously when loading via XHR or drag'n'drop. Callback recieves loading progress in percents (from 0 to 100) and the event target.seek– on seeking.play– when it starts playing.finish– when it finishes playing.progress– fires continuously during playback.mark– when a mark is reached. Passes the mark object.marked– when a mark is created.mark-update– when a mark is updated.mark-removed– when a mark is removed.region-in– when entering a region.region-out– when leaving a region.region-created– when a region is created.region-updated– when a region is updated.region-removed– when a region is removed.selection-update– when a selection is updated. Has an object parameter containig selection information or null if the selection is cleared.error– on error, passes an error message.
Each of mark objects also fire the event reached when played over.
Initial idea by Alex Khokhulin. Many thanks to the awesome contributors!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

