AudioContext.createAnalyser()

The createAnalyser() method of the AudioContext interface creates an AnalyserNode, which can be used to expose audio time and frequency data and create data visualisations.

Note: For more on using this node, see the AnalyserNode page.

Syntax

var audioCtx = new AudioContext();
var analyser = audioCtx.createAnalyser();

Returns

An AnalyserNode.

Example

The following example shows basic usage of an AudioContext to create an Analyser node, then use requestAnimationFrame() to collect time domain data repeatedly and draw an "oscilloscope style" output of the current audio input. For more complete applied examples/information, check out our Voice-change-O-matic demo (see app.js lines 128–205 for relevant code).

var audioCtx = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)();
var analyser = audioCtx.createAnalyser();
  ...
analyser.fftSize = 2048;
var bufferLength = analyser.fftSize;
var dataArray = new Uint8Array(bufferLength);
analyser.getByteTimeDomainData(dataArray);
// draw an oscilloscope of the current audio source
function draw() {
      drawVisual = requestAnimationFrame(draw);
      analyser.getByteTimeDomainData(dataArray);
      canvasCtx.fillStyle = 'rgb(200, 200, 200)';
      canvasCtx.fillRect(0, 0, WIDTH, HEIGHT);
      canvasCtx.lineWidth = 2;
      canvasCtx.strokeStyle = 'rgb(0, 0, 0)';
      canvasCtx.beginPath();
      var sliceWidth = WIDTH * 1.0 / bufferLength;
      var x = 0;
      for(var i = 0; i < bufferLength; i++) {
   
        var v = dataArray[i] / 128.0;
        var y = v * HEIGHT/2;
        if(i === 0) {
          canvasCtx.moveTo(x, y);
        } else {
          canvasCtx.lineTo(x, y);
        }
        x += sliceWidth;
      }
      canvasCtx.lineTo(canvas.width, canvas.height/2);
      canvasCtx.stroke();
    };
    draw();

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Web Audio API
The definition of 'createAnalyser()' in that specification.
Working Draft  

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support 10.0webkit (Yes) 25.0 (25.0)  No support 15.0webkit
22
6.0webkit
Feature Android Edge Firefox Mobile (Gecko) Firefox OS IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile Chrome for Android
Basic support ? (Yes) 26.0 1.2 ? ? ? 33.0

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: erikadoyle, Jeremie, teoli, chrisdavidmills
 Last updated by: erikadoyle,