Importing Audio

In bellplay~ we can also generate buffers by importing our own audio files into our scripts. For this, we use the importaudio function, which takes a file path as a symbol and returns a buffer.

info

In bellplay~, file paths can be either relative or absolute. Here are some examples:

• A relative path refers to a location relative to the current script's directory. For instance, './samples/kick.wav' refers to a file in a samples subdirectory located next to your script.
• An absolute path points to a fixed location on your filesystem. For example, '/Users/alice/samples/snare.wav' refers to a specific file, regardless of where your script is located.
• A path starting with '~/' is a shorthand for the current user's home directory, e.g., '~/Downloads/beat.wav'.

Always ensure that the file you are referencing exists at the specified path. In later tutorials we will take a look at using the exists function for this.

Since bellplay~ comes with a few built-in audio files, they will be used throughout the tutorials for demonstration purposes. In the tutorial below, "poem.wav" is one such file, which is why it does not require a relative or absolute path syntax. However, you should always experiment with your own sounds, by providing a valid path (absolute, or relative to your bell script location) to a file in your computer.

importing_audio.bell

## path to built-in audio file
$path = 'poem.wav';
## uncomment the line👇 below to use a file path of your choosing
## $path = "/path/to/my/file.wav";
## use file path to import audio file as a buffer
$buff = importaudio($path);
## transcribe buffer and render
$buff.transcribe();
render()