GrainPlayer

Granular synthesis lets you independently control pitch and playback speed -- something impossible with traditional audio playback. Drag the waveform to set the read position, adjust grain size for texture variation, and add jitter for organic randomness.

Granular synthesis — pitch and speed are independent.

Click Play to load waveform

Speed1.00x

Loop

Pitch in semitones0 semitones

Grain size100ms

Grain overlap50ms

Grain jitter0%

How It Works

The createGrainPlayer() function reads tiny overlapping slices of audio (called grains) and plays them back continuously. Because each grain is independently pitch-shifted, the overall pitch can change without affecting how fast the buffer is being read -- and vice versa.

Key API

import { createGrainPlayer, createSound } from 'ez-web-audio'

const sound = await createSound('/audio/sample.mp3')
const grain = await createGrainPlayer(sound.audioBuffer, {
  grainSize: 0.1, // seconds per grain
  overlap: 0.05, // grain crossfade overlap in seconds
  jitter: 0, // position randomization (0-1)
  loop: true,
})

grain.play()
grain.pitch = 7 // up a perfect fifth (semitones) -- speed unchanged
grain.position = 0.5 // jump to middle of buffer
grain.grainSize = 0.2 // larger grains = smoother texture

pitch is measured in semitones: 12 = one octave up, -12 = one octave down, 7 = a perfect fifth.

Interactive Controls

Control	What It Does
Waveform canvas	Click or drag to set the grain read position
Pitch	Shifts pitch in semitones without changing speed
Speed	Advances the read position faster or slower without changing pitch
Grain Size	Larger = smoother; smaller = more granular artifacts
Overlap	Crossfade between grains for smoother texture
Jitter	Randomizes grain start position -- adds organic movement

Cleanup

grain.stop()
grain.dispose() // Stops all scheduled grains and releases the buffer reference

Further Reading

• GrainPlayer Guide -- full API reference, effects, and parameter details
• LFO — One Knob, Three Effects -- modulate grain position or pitch with an LFO
• Effects Chain -- add reverb, delay, or compression to grain output