/playsound

Plays a sound effect to one or more players. Supports all vanilla and custom sounds with volume and pitch control.

Overview

Plays a sound effect to one or more players. Supports all vanilla and custom sounds with volume and pitch control. In vanilla Minecraft Java Edition it is one of the logic commands and has been available since version 1.6.

It is invoked as /playsound [] [] [] [] and accepts 3 required arguments (, , and ) and 4 optional arguments ([pos], [volume], [pitch], and [minVolume]).

Volume values above 1.0 extend the range at which the sound can be heard (range = volume * 16 blocks) but do not make it louder. The source category (master, music, etc.) determines which in-game volume slider affects the sound.

The source category (master, music, block, hostile, player and so on) decides which volume slider governs the sound. Volume above 1.0 only widens the audible range (range = volume x 16 blocks); it does not make the sound louder.

Syntax & Arguments

/playsound <sound> <source> <targets> [<pos>] [<volume>] [<pitch>] [<minVolume>]

The full syntax is /playsound [] [] [] []. Angle brackets < > mark required arguments and square brackets [ ] mark optional ones; a vertical bar | between words means you pick exactly one of those literals. You must always supply , , and . The arguments [pos], [volume], [pitch], and [minVolume] may be omitted, in which case the documented default applies.

sound: Required, of type a resource. The sound event to play (e.g., entity.experience_orb.pickup).
source: Required, of type a literal. The sound category: master, music, record, weather, block, hostile, neutral, player, ambient, voice.
targets: Required, of type an entity. The player(s) who hear the sound.
pos: Optional, of type a vec3. The position the sound originates from. Defaults to the target's position.
volume: Optional, of type a float. The volume (0.0+). Values above 1.0 increase hearing range, not actual loudness.
pitch: Optional, of type a float. The pitch (0.0-2.0). 1.0 is normal. Default is 1.0.
minVolume: Optional, of type a float. Minimum volume for players outside the normal range (0.0-1.0).

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
sound	resource	Required	The sound event to play (e.g., entity.experience_orb.pickup).
source	literal	Required	The sound category: master, music, record, weather, block, hostile, neutral, player, ambient, voice.
targets	entity	Required	The player(s) who hear the sound.
pos	vec3	Optional	The position the sound originates from. Defaults to the target's position.
volume	float	Optional	The volume (0.0+). Values above 1.0 increase hearing range, not actual loudness.
pitch	float	Optional	The pitch (0.0-2.0). 1.0 is normal. Default is 1.0.
minVolume	float	Optional	Minimum volume for players outside the normal range (0.0-1.0).

Examples

The 3 examples below are ready to copy and adapt. For instance, /playsound minecraft:entity.experience_orb.pickup player @a plays the experience orb pickup sound to all players. Each example varies the arguments to show a different real use of /playsound; read the note under every snippet to see exactly what changes.

/playsound minecraft:entity.experience_orb.pickup player @a

Plays the experience orb pickup sound to all players.

/playsound minecraft:entity.ender_dragon.growl hostile @p ~ ~ ~ 1 0.5

Plays the ender dragon growl at half pitch to the nearest player.

/playsound minecraft:block.note_block.harp record @a ~ ~ ~ 1 1.5

Plays a harp note at 1.5 pitch to all players.

Permission Level & Requirements

/playsound sits at permission Level 2 - Game Master / Cheats, which means it needs permission level 2, the level cheats grant to single-player worlds and that operators hold by default.

In a single-player world you must have "Allow Cheats" turned on (or open the world to LAN with cheats) before it will run; on a multiplayer server the player needs to be an operator at the matching level.

This reference describes the Java Edition 1.21 form of the command; Bedrock Edition may use slightly different argument formats.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the source category, it is required and determines which volume slider controls the sound.
Using volume > 1.0 expecting louder sound, values above 1 only increase the hearing distance, not the volume.

Notes

Related Commands

If /playsound is part of your toolkit, the commands below are the ones you will most often reach for alongside it: /stopsound, /particle, and /title. They cover closely related tasks, so the links above jump straight to each one.

/stopsound

/particle

/title

Frequently Asked Questions about /playsound

What does the /playsound command do in Minecraft?

Plays a sound effect to one or more players. Supports all vanilla and custom sounds with volume and pitch control. It belongs to the logic command group and was added in Java Edition 1.6.

What is the correct syntax for /playsound?

/playsound [] [] [] []. The required arguments are sound, source, and targets, and the optional ones are pos, volume, pitch, and minVolume.

What permission level does /playsound need?

It requires permission Level 2 - Game Master / Cheats. On a server the player must be an operator at that level, or have cheats enabled in single-player.

What is a common mistake when using /playsound?

Forgetting the source category, it is required and determines which volume slider controls the sound.

Can you give an example of /playsound in use?

Yes. /playsound minecraft:entity.ender_dragon.growl hostile @p ~ ~ ~ 1 0.5 — plays the ender dragon growl at half pitch to the nearest player.

Why doesn't a volume above 1.0 make the sound louder?

Volume past 1.0 only extends how far the sound can be heard (range = volume x 16 blocks). To make a sound seem louder at the listener you have to move its source position closer instead.

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