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web api instance property

OscillatorNode: type property

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The type property of the OscillatorNode interface specifies what shape of waveform the oscillator will output. There are several common waveforms available, as well as an option to specify a custom waveform shape. The shape of the waveform will affect the tone that is produced.

Value

A string specifying the shape of oscillator wave. The different available values are:

  • sine
  • square
  • sawtooth
  • triangle
  • custom
    • : A custom waveform. You never set type to custom manually; instead, use the setPeriodicWave() method to provide the data representing the waveform. Doing so automatically sets the type to custom.

Also see different oscillator node types for a visualization of the different waveform shapes.

Exceptions

  • InvalidStateError DOMException
    • : Thrown if the value custom was specified. To set a custom waveform, just call setPeriodicWave(). Doing so automatically sets the type for you.

Examples

The following example shows basic usage of an AudioContext to create an oscillator node. For an applied example, check out our Violent Theremin demo (see app.js for relevant code).

// create web audio api context
const audioCtx = new AudioContext();

// create Oscillator node
const oscillator = audioCtx.createOscillator();

oscillator.type = "square";
oscillator.frequency.setValueAtTime(440, audioCtx.currentTime); // value in hertz
oscillator.start();

Specifications

SpecificationsStandards references are available on the canonical MDN page.

Browser compatibility

Browser compatibilityCompatibility data is available on the canonical MDN page.

See also