Audio on the Web
Before HTML5, audio files could only be played in a browser with a plug-in (like flash).
The HTML5 <audio> element specifies a standard way to embed audio in a web page.
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the <audio> element.
| Element | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <audio> | 4.0 | 9.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 10.5 |
The HTML <audio> Element
To play an audio file in HTML, use the <audio> element:
Example
<audio controls>
<source src="horse.ogg" type="audio/ogg">
<source src="horse.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio>
HTML Audio - How It Works
The controls attribute adds audio controls, like play, pause, and volume.
The <source> element allows you to specify alternative audio files which the browser may choose from. The browser will use the first recognized format.
The text between the <audio> and </audio> tags will only be displayed in browsers that do not support the <audio> element.
HTML Audio - Browser Support
In HTML5, there are 3 supported audio formats: MP3, Wav, and Ogg.
The browser support for the different formats is:
| Browser | MP3 | Wav | Ogg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Explorer | YES | NO | NO |
| Chrome | YES | YES | YES |
| Firefox | YES | YES | YES |
| Safari | YES | YES | NO |
| Opera | YES | YES | YES |
HTML Audio - Media Types
| File Format | Media Type |
|---|---|
| MP3 | audio/mpeg |
| Ogg | audio/ogg |
| Wav | audio/wav |
HTML Audio - Methods, Properties, and Events
HTML5 defines DOM methods, properties, and events for the <audio> element.
This allows you to load, play, and pause audios, as well as set duration and volume.
There are also DOM events that can notify you when an audio begins to play, is paused, etc.
For a full DOM reference, go to our HTML5 Audio/Video DOM Reference.
HTML5 Audio Tags
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| <audio> | Defines sound content |
| <source> | Defines multiple media resources for media elements, such as <video> and <audio> |
