How do I play sounds in the Unix version of Mathematica?

The front end for Unix versions of Mathematica 3.0 and 4.0 cannot play sounds. However, it is possible to generate sound graphics using the external motifps binary. If you have used Mathematica in kernel-only mode, you have probably noticed that graphics are rendered and displayed in separate windows. Sounds can be played in the same way from the Mathematica front end.

With the following configuration, you can use the front end for all of your normal graphical work and automatically call the motifps binary to render and play sound objects generated by Play, ListPlay, or other sound commands.

Download the following package file.

http://support.wolfram.com/mathematica/graphics/sound/sound.m

Make the file sound.m available to the kernel by following the steps on this page.

http://support.wolfram.com/mathematica/kernel/files/makingavailable.html

Now add the following command to your kernel's init.m file.

If[$ParentLink =!= Null, Get["sound.m"]];

More information on editing your init.m file can be found at the following URL.

http://support.wolfram.com/mathematica/kernel/files/initmconfigure.html

It should be noted that this workaround does not work on all Unix platforms and configurations. It is provided as a possible means of getting sound to work in the X front end, not as a robust solution.

If you are using Mathematica 2.2, please see the following FAQ instead.

http://support.wolfram.com/mathematica/systems/unix/interface/sound22.html

Download this FAQ as a Mathematica 5.2 Notebook

Questions or comments? Send email to support@wolfram.com.