HTML5 Audio

HTML5 provides a standard for playing audio files.

Audio on the Web

Before HTML5, there was no standard for playing audio files on a web page.

Before HTML5, audio files could only be played 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.

The HTML <audio> Element

To play an audio file in HTML, use the <audio> element:

HTML Audio - How It Works

The controls attribute adds audio controls, like play, pause, and volume.

Text between the <audio> and </audio> tags will display in browsers that do not support the <audio> element.

Multiple <source> elements can link to different audio files. The browser will use the first recognized format.

HTML Audio - Browser Support

Currently, there are 3 supported file formats for the <audio> element: MP3, Wav, and Ogg:

HTML Audio - Media Types

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