Sounds

In bedrock, we can add custom sounds without overwriting any vanilla sounds. This is done by adding files to the resource pack.

Folder Structure ​

There are two main files that we edit when we want to add sounds. Note how sound_definition is nested inside sounds.

Sound files themselves are added inside of the sounds folder, and can be any of the following formats.

sound_definitions.json ​

sound_definitions.json is where we define new sound short-names. This should be thought of as typing a short-name or id to a physical sound path. Here is an example, sound_definitions.json, that adds a new trumpet sound called example.toot:

{
	"format_version": "1.14.0",
	"sound_definitions": {
		"example.toot": {
			"category": "neutral",
			"sounds": ["sounds/trumpet"]
		}
	}
}

Sounds added in this way can be triggered using /playsound. Please note that playsound does not auto-correct, so you will need to be careful in your typing.

/playsound volume notes ​

The game will clamp the sound volume to at most 1.0 before multiplying it with the sound definition's volume.

For /playsound, the maximum hearable range of a sound is given by min(max_distance, max(volume * 16, 16)). If "max_distance"is not given in the sound's definition, it is equivalent to playsound_volume * 16.

Approximate sound attenuation by distance. The actual graph might not be linear.

Shown above is the approximate sound attenuation factor by distance for playing sounds with a volume parameter greater than or equal to 1. Notice how the playsound <volume> limits the sound's audible range. The axis distance is the distance of the sound listener (player) to the sound source. The corresponding volume axis' value is the factor for the playsound volume capped to 1, multiplied by the sound definition's volume to get the final volume of the sound you hear. As an expression this could be written as: final_volume = min(playsound_volume, 1) * graph_volume * sound_definition_volume.

Note: Attenuation by distance of the hearable sound's volume is not affected by the volume parameter given in the command.

For example, mob.ghast.affectionate_scream sets "min_distance": 100.0, but can only be heard from at most 16 blocks away when using /playsound with volume 1 to play it. Specifying a greater volume value increases the audible range. When using a large enough volume to hear the sound farther away, the sound will get quieter only after a distance of more than 100.0.

To make a sound which can be heard far away but also drops in volume continuously over distance, one can add e.g. "volume": 0.01and use large <volume> values in the playsound command. The high value for the /playsound volume will produce a large audible range (e.g. a volume of 4 is 64 blocks as calculated above), while the low volume will prevent the played sound from capping at 1.0 too soon.

Top Level Keys ​

In the example above, I showed two top-level fields: category and sounds. Sounds will be discussed in further detail below, but the other top-level keys will be discussed here:

Categories ​

Categories are used internally by the engine to decide how each sound is played. We can utilize different channels to get other effects.

min_distance ​

The distance from the sound source after which sound volume is attenuated. Default value: 0.0. It must be a float (eg. 1.0), or the property will be ignored.

max_distance ​

The distance from the sound source after which the sound volume is the quietest (if in range). It must be a float (eg. 1.0), or the property will be ignored.

Sound definitions ​

In the example above, I showed sounds as simply a list with a single path. This is good for simple sounds but does not have much power. For starts, I can add multiple sounds to the list. These sounds will be randomized when played:

{
	"format_version": "1.14.0",
	"sound_definitions": {
		"example.toot": {
			"category": "neutral",
			"sounds": [
				"sounds/trumpet",
				"sounds/trumpet2",
				"sounds/trumpet3"
			]
		}
	}
}

Additionally, we can define each sound as an object instead of a string. This allows us finer control and unlocks some new settings. The string/object style can be mixed and matched.

name ​

The path to the file, such as: "sounds/music/game/creative/creative1"

stream ​

Limits the sound only to be played a limited number of instances at a time. Will cause the game to not load the entire sound data into memory while playing, but rather in smaller parts while playing, thus using less memory. Good for improving performance on sound heavy worlds.

volume ​

How loud the sound should play, from 0.0 to 1.0. Sounds cannot be made more audible than initially encoded. Set to 1.0 by default. Sounds in custom resource packs can have working values greater than 1.0.

load_on_low_memory ​

Forces the loading of the sound even when nearing low memory. "load_on_low_memory" is now deprecated as of 1.16.0

pitch ​

The pitch of the sound (how low/high it sounds). Should be a positive value. For example, 2.3 will let the sound play 2.3 times as quickly and thus at higher pitch. Set to 1.0 by default.

is3D ​

true makes the sound directional. Set to true for all sounds by default. Ignored for music and ui sounds. Only sounds with false will play stereo sound.

interruptible ​

Set to true by default.

weight ​

If there is more than one sound in the list, the sound to be played is chosen randomly. "weight" (integer value like 5) will give the relative chance that this sound is chosen from the list. For example, if there are two sounds in the list, one with "weight": 10 and the other with "weight": 2, the first will be played approximately 5 times more likely than the second (accurately: 10 / (10 + 2) = 83.3% chance vs. 2 / (10 + 2) = 16.7% chance) . Set to 1 by default.

Example ​

Here is a more realistic example containing these options:

"block.beehive.drip": {
    "category": "block",
    "max_distance": 8,
    "sounds": [
        {
            "name": "sounds/block/beehive/drip1",
            "load_on_low_memory": true
        },
        "sounds/block/beehive/drip2",
        "sounds/block/beehive/drip3",
        "sounds/block/beehive/drip4"
    ]
}

sounds.json ​

If we want our sounds to run automatically, we can add them into the sounds.json file. This will tie the sound definitions directly to game events and cause them to play without needing to trigger with /playsound.

Sounds can be added into various categories:

Adding Entity Sounds ​

I assume that sounds can be added in other categories, but I personally only have experience adding sounds into the entities category. Entity sounds are automatically played at various points in the entities life-cycle.

Common events:

There are also many sound events, which most likely trigger automatically, but which I don't have details for, such as:

Example ​

{
	"entity_sounds": {
		"entities": {
			"wiki:elephant": {
				"volume": 1,
				"pitch": [0.9, 1.0],
				"events": {
					"step": {
						"sound": "elephant.step",
						"volume": 0.18,
						"pitch": 1.1
					},
					"ambient": {
						"sound": "elephant.trumpet",
						"volume": 0.11,
						"pitch": 0.9
					}
				}
			}
		}
	}
}

Adding sounds to Animations ​

Sounds played in animations function based off of short-name definitions in the RP entity file.

This example shows playing a wing-flap sound, synced with an animation.

"sound_effects": {
    "wing_flap": "wiki.dragon.wing_flap" //where wiki.dragon.roar is a sound defined in sound_definitions
}

"sound_effects": {
    "3.16": {
        "effect": "wing_flap"
    }
}

Adding sounds to Animation Controllers ​

You can play sounds within animation controllers in a similar way that animations can be.

This example shows playing an explosion sound, synced using an animation controller.

"sound_effects": {
    "explosion": "wiki.custom_tnt.explosion" //where wiki.custom_tnt.explosion is a sound defined in sound_definitions just like animation sounds.
}

"states":{
    "default":{
        "transitions":[
            {
                "explode_state":"q.mark_variant == 1"
            }
        ]
    },
    "explode_state":{
        "sound_effects":[
            {
                "effect":"explosion"
            }
        ],
        "transitions":[
            {
                "default":"q.mark_variant == 0"
            }
        ]
    }
}