How to Know the Length of an Audio File in Python
Understanding the duration of an audio file is a fundamental task in various applications, from media streaming to content moderation. In Python, there are several methods to determine the length of an audio file. This article will guide you through the process, covering different libraries and techniques to ensure you can accurately measure the length of your audio files.
Using the wave Module
The wave module is a built-in Python library that allows you to read and write WAV files. To determine the length of an audio file using wave, you need to open the file, read the frame rate, and calculate the total number of frames. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Import the wave module.
- Open the audio file using wave.open().
- Read the frame rate from the audio file’s frame rate attribute.
- Calculate the total number of frames by dividing the audio file’s size by the frame size.
- Calculate the length of the audio file by dividing the total number of frames by the frame rate.
import wavedef get_audio_length(filename): with wave.open(filename, 'rb') as audio_file: frame_rate = audio_file.getframerate() frame_size = audio_file.getsampwidth() audio_file.getnchannels() total_frames = audio_file.getnframes() audio_length = total_frames / frame_rate return audio_lengthaudio_length = get_audio_length('audio.wav')print(f"The length of the audio file is {audio_length} seconds.")Using the pydub Library
Pydub is a high-level audio library that makes it easy to work with audio files. It provides a simple interface to get the length of an audio file. Here’s how you can do it:
- Install pydub and its dependencies (ffmpeg or avlib).
- Import pydub.
- Load the audio file using AudioSegment.from_file().
- Use the duration attribute to get the length of the audio file.
from pydub import AudioSegmentdef get_audio_length_pydub(filename): audio = AudioSegment.from_file(filename) audio_length = len(audio) / 1000 Convert milliseconds to seconds return audio_lengthaudio_length = get_audio_length_pydub('audio.wav')print(f"The length of the audio file is {audio_length} seconds.")Using the librosa Library
Librosa is a Python library for audio and music analysis. It provides a convenient way to get the length of an audio file. Here’s how to use it:
- Install librosa.
- Import librosa.
- Load the audio file using librosa.load().
- Use the duration attribute to get the length of the audio file.
import librosadef get_audio_length_librosa(filename): y, sr = librosa.load(filename) audio_length = librosa.get_duration(y=y, sr=sr) return audio_lengthaudio_length = get_audio_length_librosa('audio.wav')print(f"The length of the audio file is {audio_length} seconds.")Using the sox Library
SOX is a sound file format converter, resampler, and player. It can be used to get the length of an audio file in Python. Here’s how to do it:
- Install sox.
- Import sox.
- Use sox to get the length of the audio file.
import soxdef get_audio_length_sox(filename): audio = sox.AudioFile(filename) audio_length = audio.duration return audio_lengthaudio_length = get_audio_length_sox('audio.wav')print(f"The length of the audio file is {audio_length} seconds.")Comparing the Results
Here’s a table comparing the results obtained from the different methods:
| Method | Duration (seconds) |
|---|---|
| Wave Module
|
