---
id: html-audio
title: "HTML Audio"
category: "Frontend"
status: "draft"
verification_status: "conceptual"
canonical_id: ""
aliases: ["audio element", "<audio>", "HTML5 audio", "embed audio", "audio controls"]
duplicate_of: ""
source_trust_level: "B"
confidence_score: 0.90
created_at: 2026-06-23
updated_at: 2026-06-23
review_reason: ""
merge_history: []
tags: ["html", "web", "frontend", "media", "audio", "html5", "w3schools"]
raw_sources: ["https://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_audio.asp"]
applied_in: []
github_commit: ""
---

# [[HTML Audio]]

## 🎯 한 줄 통찰 (One-line insight)
The HTML `<audio>` element plays sound natively in a page; multiple `<source>` children let the browser pick the first supported format, with `controls`, `autoplay`, and `muted` attributes governing playback. [S1]

## 🧠 핵심 개념 (Core concepts)
- **`<audio>` plays sound** — it embeds an audio player directly in the page. [S1]
- **`controls` adds the UI** — the `controls` attribute adds audio controls such as play, pause, and volume. [S1]
- **Multiple `<source>` for fallback** — list several `<source>` elements with different formats; the browser uses the first recognized one. Text between the tags shows if none is supported. [S1]
- **`autoplay` starts on load**, but Chromium browsers do not allow autoplay in most cases; muted autoplay is always allowed. [S1]
- **Three HTML-standard formats** — MP3, WAV, and Ogg. [S1]
- **Scriptable** — like video, audio has DOM methods, properties, and events for JavaScript control. [S1]

## 🧩 추출된 패턴 (Extracted patterns)
- **Multi-source fallback pattern** — `<audio controls>` wrapping ordered `<source>` elements + fallback text. [S1]
- **Format ordering pattern** — list the preferred format's `<source>` first. [S1]
- **Muted autoplay pattern** — `autoplay muted` to start playback within browser autoplay policies. [S1]

## 📖 세부 내용 (Details)
**The HTML `<audio>` element** — used to play an audio file on a web page. To play an audio file, use the `<audio>` element. The `controls` attribute adds audio controls (play, pause, volume). The `<source>` elements link to different audio files; the browser uses the first recognized format. The text between `<audio>` and `</audio>` is displayed only in browsers that do not support the element: [S1]
```html
<audio controls>
  <source src="horse.ogg" type="audio/ogg">
  <source src="horse.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio>
```

**HTML `<audio>` autoplay** — to start an audio file automatically, use the `autoplay` attribute. Note: Chromium browsers do not allow autoplay in most cases; however, muted autoplay is always allowed: [S1]
```html
<audio controls autoplay>
  <source src="horse.ogg" type="audio/ogg">
  <source src="horse.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio>
```

Add `muted` after `autoplay` to let the file start playing automatically (but muted): [S1]
```html
<audio controls autoplay muted>
  <source src="horse.ogg" type="audio/ogg">
  <source src="horse.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio>
```

**HTML audio formats** — three formats are supported: MP3, WAV, and Ogg. Their MIME (media) types: [S1]

| Format | Media Type |
|---|---|
| MP3 | audio/mpeg |
| OGG | audio/ogg |
| WAV | audio/wav |

Browser support varies by format (per the source): MP3 and WAV are supported across Edge/IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera; OGG is supported in Edge (from Edge 79), Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, but not Safari. [S1]

**HTML audio — methods, properties, and events** — HTML defines DOM methods, properties, and events for the `<audio>` element, allowing JavaScript to load, play, and pause audio, set duration and volume, and react to events. The source directs to the "HTML Audio/Video DOM Reference" for the full list. [S1]

**HTML audio tags** — [S1]

| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| `<audio>` | Defines sound content |
| `<source>` | Defines multiple media resources for media elements, such as `<video>` and `<audio>` |

## 🛠️ 적용 사례 (Applied in summary)
The examples above are the canonical applied uses: a controlled player offering Ogg with an MP3 fallback, an autoplay variant, and a muted-autoplay variant that complies with modern browser autoplay policies. No external project/commit applications found in the source.

## 💻 코드 패턴 (Code patterns)
Standard audio player with fallback (HTML):
```html
<audio controls>
  <source src="horse.ogg" type="audio/ogg">
  <source src="horse.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio>
```
Muted autoplay (HTML):
```html
<audio controls autoplay muted>
  <source src="horse.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
```

## ⚖️ 모순 및 업데이트 (Contradictions & updates)
No contradictions found in the source. As with video, the notable constraint is browser autoplay policy: `autoplay` alone is blocked by Chromium browsers in most cases, so `muted` is required for reliable autoplay. [S1]

## ✅ 검증 상태 및 신뢰도
- **상태:** draft
- **검증 단계:** conceptual (실제 적용 사례 발견 시 applied/validated로 승격 가능)
- **출처 신뢰도:** B (W3Schools — widely used educational reference, not a primary standards body)
- **신뢰 점수:** 0.90
- **중복 검사 결과:** 신규 생성 (New discovery)

## 🔗 지식 그래프 (Knowledge Graph)
- **상위/루트:** [[HTML Tutorial]]
- **관련 개념:** [[HTML Video]], [[HTML Media]], [[HTML Plug-ins]], [[HTML5]]
- **참조 맥락:** Referenced when embedding playable audio with cross-browser format fallbacks.

## 📚 출처 (Sources)
- [S1] W3Schools — HTML Audio — https://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_audio.asp

## 📝 변경 이력 (Change history)
- 2026-06-23: Initial draft synthesized from the W3Schools "HTML Audio" page (Astra wiki-curation, P-Reinforce v3.1 format).
