SoundPool in Android with Examples

In this article, we will learn about how to add SoundPool class in android. A collection of audio samples can be loaded into memory from a resource and can be used. SoundPool class is used to play short repeating sound whereas MediaPlayer class is used to play longer clips like music. It uses a MediaPlayer service to decode the audio. Forex:- A game consists of several levels of play. For each level, there is a set of unique sounds that are used only by that level. For that, we used the SoundPool class todo our work. So learning SoundPool class gives a better understanding to deal with the short audio clips.

Approach:

1. Create a new Android Resource Directory and for that
   right-click on res folder -> Android Resource Directory,
   make sure to select resource type as raw. In this raw folder paste your audio clips.
2. Add the following code in activity_main.xml file. Here three Buttons are added. Each button if clicked will invoke playSound method.
   
   activity_main.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout
       xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
       xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
       android:layout_width="match_parent"
       android:layout_height="match_parent"
       android:gravity="center"
       tools:context=".MainActivity">
   
       <Button
           android:id="@+id/button_sound1"
           android:layout_width="wrap_content"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:onClick="playSound"
           android:text="Game Over"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
   
       <Button
           android:id="@+id/button_sound2"
           android:layout_width="wrap_content"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:onClick="playSound"
           android:text="Player Died"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintVertical_bias="0.472" />
   
       <Button
           android:id="@+id/button_sound3"
           android:layout_width="wrap_content"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:onClick="playSound"
           android:text="Level Complete"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintVertical_bias="0.472" />
   
   
   </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
3. Add the following code in MainActivity.java file. Here, an object of SoundPool class is created and three audio clips, game_over, level_complete and player_died are added using load method. playSound method is also added which plays the audio clip associated with the respective button.
   
   MainActivity.java

   package org.geeksforgeeks.gfgsoundpool;
   
   import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
   import android.media.AudioAttributes;
   import android.media.AudioManager;
   import android.media.SoundPool;
   import android.os.Build;
   import android.os.Bundle;
   import android.view.View;
   
   public class MainActivity
       extends AppCompatActivity {
       SoundPool soundPool;
       int game_over,
           level_complete,
           player_died;
   
       @Override
       protected void onCreate(
           Bundle savedInstanceState)
       {
           super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
           setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
   
           if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT
               >= Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
               AudioAttributes
                   audioAttributes
                   = new AudioAttributes
                         .Builder()
                         .setUsage(
                             AudioAttributes
                                 .USAGE_ASSISTANCE_SONIFICATION)
                         .setContentType(
                             AudioAttributes
                                 .CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION)
                         .build();
               soundPool
                   = new SoundPool
                         .Builder()
                         .setMaxStreams(3)
                         .setAudioAttributes(
                             audioAttributes)
                         .build();
           }
           else {
               soundPool
                   = new SoundPool(
                       3,
                       AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC,
                       0);
           }
   
           // This load function takes
           // three parameter context,
           // file_name and priority.
           game_over
               = soundPool
                     .load(
                         this,
                         R.raw.game_over,
                         1);
           level_complete
               = soundPool.load(
                   this,
                   R.raw.level_complete,
                   1);
           player_died
               = soundPool.load(
                   this,
                   R.raw.player_died,
                   1);
       }
   
       public void playSound(View v)
       {
           switch (v.getId()) {
   
           case R.id.button_sound1:
   
               // This play function
               // takes five parameter
               // leftVolume, rightVolume,
               // priority, loop and rate.
               soundPool.play(
                   game_over, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1);
               soundPool.autoPause();
               break;
   
           case R.id.button_sound2:
               soundPool.play(
                   player_died, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1);
               break;
   
           case R.id.button_sound3:
               soundPool.play(
                   level_complete, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1);
               break;
           }
       }
   }

Output: