Python winsound module

Maybe you have just begun coding in Python. Maybe the entire outset seems inconclusive since you have been working with regular IDEs and would like to obtain a bit more out of what your code does on the respective console and maybe a little music or tune might just liven it up. This article serves the purpose of introducing to you the winsound module, an object or file with a set of attributes or functions, specific to the task of generating or playing sound or a sound file. Note: The winsound module is defined only for execution on a Windows Platform, hence the name WINsound. Since, the winsound module is a builtin, there is no need for you to install it prior to executing it. The basic action would be to

import winsound

and then based upon the kind of output you would like, type out the following functions:

• winsound.Beep( ) The functionality devoted to this method is to generate a ‘Beep’ sound. However, the user is required to input the frequency value and the duration of the sound (these are parameters that shall be passed while calling the function). Note: The frequency must be in the range 37 through 32,767 hertz. 

Python3

import winsound

# frequency is set to 500Hz
freq = 500

# duration is set to 100 milliseconds
dur = 100

winsound.Beep(freq, dur)

• Output:

Windows system will produce a ‘Beep’ sound with the given frequency for the given duration of time.

• Building further on the code above, things can be taken to another level by implementing a ‘for’ loop to increment the frequency and duration. This has been done in the code below: 

Python3

import winsound

freq = 100
dur = 50

# loop iterates 5 times i.e, 5 beeps will be produced.
for i in range(0, 5):
    winsound.Beep(freq, dur)
    freq+= 100
    dur+= 50

• Output: 

Consecutive notes with frequency differences of 100Hz and time duration 50 milliseconds greater
than  the previous time duration are produced.

• winsound.PlaySound( ) With the PlaySound function, things can get slightly advanced, not to mention interesting. Keep in mind that this function is only compatible with .wav files. Two parameters are passed in the function: ‘filename’ and the flag – winsound.SND_FILENAME, which is required for the Platform API to refer to the output file. The flags are as defined below:

Flags	Description
SND_FILENAME	The sound parameter is the name of a WAV file.
SND_LOOP	Play the sound repeatedly
SND_MEMORY	The sound parameter to PlaySound() is a memory image of a WAV file, as a bytes-like object.
SND_ASYNC	Return immediately, allowing sounds to play asynchronously.
SND_NODEFAULT	If the specified sound cannot be found, do not play the system default sound.
SND_NOSTOP	Do not interrupt sounds currently playing.

• Example:

Python3

import winsound

print("Playing the file 'Welcome.wav'")

# winsound.PlaySound('filename', flag)
winsound.PlaySound('Welcome.wav', winsound.SND_FILENAME)

• Output:

The respective audio file named 'Welcome.wav' is executed.

• SND_ALIAS The sound parameter should be interpreted as a control panel sound association name. The Windows registry keys are associated with sound names. If the registry contains no such name, play the system default sound unless SND_NODEFAULT. All Win32 systems support the following:

PlaySound() name	Control panel sound name
SystemAsterisk	Asterisk
SystemExclamation	Exclamation
SystemExit	Exit Windows
SystemHand	Critical Stop
SystemQuestion	Question

• Example:

Python3

import winsound


# Play Windows question sound
winsound.PlaySound("SystemQuestion", winsound.SND_ALIAS)

• Output:

Play Windows question sound

There are various other winsound functions, most of which are particular to specific tasks, some of which deal with runtime parameters. Nonetheless, the functions mentioned above should suffice as long as the idea is to play around to get an idea of what can be accomplished using this module.