.NET Framework Class Library
Console..::.Beep Method (Int32, Int32)

Updated: April 2009

Plays the sound of a beep of a specified frequency and duration through the console speaker.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)
<HostProtectionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, UI := True)> _
Public Shared Sub Beep ( _
    frequency As Integer, _
    duration As Integer _
)
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim frequency As Integer
Dim duration As Integer

Console.Beep(frequency, duration)
C#
[HostProtectionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, UI = true)]
public static void Beep(
    int frequency,
    int duration
)
Visual C++
[HostProtectionAttribute(SecurityAction::LinkDemand, UI = true)]
public:
static void Beep(
    int frequency, 
    int duration
)
JScript
public static function Beep(
    frequency : int, 
    duration : int
)

Parameters

frequency
Type: System..::.Int32
The frequency of the beep, ranging from 37 to 32767 hertz.
duration
Type: System..::.Int32
The duration of the beep measured in milliseconds.
Exceptions

ExceptionCondition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException

frequency is less than 37 or more than 32767 hertz.

-or-

duration is less than or equal to zero.

HostProtectionException

This method was executed on a server, such as SQL Server, that does not permit access to the console.

Remarks

NoteNote:

The HostProtectionAttribute attribute applied to this type or member has the following Resources property value: UI. The HostProtectionAttribute does not affect desktop applications (which are typically started by double-clicking an icon, typing a command, or entering a URL in a browser). For more information, see the HostProtectionAttribute class or SQL Server Programming and Host Protection Attributes.

NoteNote:

   The Beep method is not supported on the 64-bit editions of Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition Platform Note: The frequency and duration parameters are ignored for these operating systems.

Examples

This example demonstrates the Beep method by playing the first few notes of a song through the console speaker.

Visual Basic
' This example demonstrates the Console.Beep(Int32, Int32) method
Imports System
Imports System.Threading

Class Sample
   Public Shared Sub Main()
      ' Declare the first few notes of the song, "Mary Had A Little Lamb".
      Dim Mary As Note() =  { _
            New Note(Tone.B, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.A, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.GbelowC, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.A, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.B, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.B, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.B, Duration.HALF), _
            New Note(Tone.A, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.A, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.A, Duration.HALF), _
            New Note(Tone.B, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.D, Duration.QUARTER), _
            New Note(Tone.D, Duration.HALF)}
      ' Play the song
      Play(Mary)
   End Sub 'Main

   ' Play the notes in a song.
   Protected Shared Sub Play(tune() As Note)
      Dim n As Note
      For Each n In  tune
         If n.NoteTone = Tone.REST Then
            Thread.Sleep(CInt(n.NoteDuration))
         Else
            Console.Beep(CInt(n.NoteTone), CInt(n.NoteDuration))
         End If
      Next n
   End Sub 'Play 
   ' Define the frequencies of notes in an octave, as well as 
   ' silence (rest).

   Protected Enum Tone
      REST = 0
      GbelowC = 196
      A = 220
      Asharp = 233
      B = 247
      C = 262
      Csharp = 277
      D = 294
      Dsharp = 311
      E = 330
      F = 349
      Fsharp = 370
      G = 392
      Gsharp = 415
   End Enum 'Tone

   ' Define the duration of a note in units of milliseconds.

   Protected Enum Duration
      WHOLE = 1600
      HALF = WHOLE / 2
      QUARTER = HALF / 2
      EIGHTH = QUARTER / 2
      SIXTEENTH = EIGHTH / 2
   End Enum 'Duration

   ' Define a note as a frequency (tone) and the amount of 
   ' time (duration) the note plays.
   Protected Structure Note
      Private toneVal As Tone
      Private durVal As Duration

      ' Define a constructor to create a specific note.
      Public Sub New(frequency As Tone, time As Duration)
         toneVal = frequency
         durVal = time
      End Sub 'New

      ' Define properties to return the note's tone and duration.
      Public ReadOnly Property NoteTone() As Tone
         Get
            Return toneVal
         End Get
      End Property

      Public ReadOnly Property NoteDuration() As Duration
         Get
            Return durVal
         End Get
      End Property
   End Structure 'Note '
'This example produces the following results:
'
'This example plays the first few notes of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" 
'through the console speaker.
'
End Class 'Sample
C#
// This example demonstrates the Console.Beep(Int32, Int32) method
using System;
using System.Threading;

class Sample 
{
    public static void Main() 
    {
// Declare the first few notes of the song, "Mary Had A Little Lamb".
    Note[] Mary = 
        {
        new Note(Tone.B, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.A, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.GbelowC, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.A, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.B, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.B, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.B, Duration.HALF),
        new Note(Tone.A, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.A, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.A, Duration.HALF),
        new Note(Tone.B, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.D, Duration.QUARTER),
        new Note(Tone.D, Duration.HALF)
        };
// Play the song
    Play(Mary);
    }

// Play the notes in a song.
    protected static void Play(Note[] tune)
    {
    foreach (Note n in tune)
        {
        if (n.NoteTone == Tone.REST)
            Thread.Sleep((int)n.NoteDuration);
        else
            Console.Beep((int)n.NoteTone, (int)n.NoteDuration);
        }
    }

// Define the frequencies of notes in an octave, as well as 
// silence (rest).
    protected enum Tone
    {
    REST   = 0,
    GbelowC = 196,
    A      = 220,
    Asharp = 233,
    B      = 247,
    C      = 262,
    Csharp = 277,
    D      = 294,
    Dsharp = 311,
    E      = 330,
    F      = 349,
    Fsharp = 370,
    G      = 392,
    Gsharp = 415, 
    }

// Define the duration of a note in units of milliseconds.
    protected enum Duration
    {
    WHOLE     = 1600,
    HALF      = WHOLE/2,
    QUARTER   = HALF/2,
    EIGHTH    = QUARTER/2,
    SIXTEENTH = EIGHTH/2,
    }

// Define a note as a frequency (tone) and the amount of 
// time (duration) the note plays.
    protected struct Note
    {
    Tone     toneVal;
    Duration durVal;

// Define a constructor to create a specific note.
    public Note(Tone frequency, Duration time)
        {
        toneVal = frequency;
        durVal  = time;
        }

// Define properties to return the note's tone and duration.
    public Tone NoteTone { get{ return toneVal; } }
    public Duration NoteDuration { get{ return durVal; } }
    }
}
/*
This example produces the following results:

This example plays the first few notes of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" 
through the console speaker.
*/
Visual C++
// This example demonstrates the Console.Beep(Int32, Int32) method
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Threading;
ref class Sample
{
protected:

   // Define the frequencies of notes in an octave, as well as 
   // silence (rest).
   enum class Tone
   {
      REST = 0,
      GbelowC = 196,
      A = 220,
      Asharp = 233,
      B = 247,
      C = 262,
      Csharp = 277,
      D = 294,
      Dsharp = 311,
      E = 330,
      F = 349,
      Fsharp = 370,
      G = 392,
      Gsharp = 415
   };


   // Define the duration of a note in units of milliseconds.
   enum class Duration
   {
      WHOLE = 1600,
      HALF = Duration::WHOLE / 2,
      QUARTER = Duration::HALF / 2,
      EIGHTH = Duration::QUARTER / 2,
      SIXTEENTH = Duration::EIGHTH / 2
   };


public:

   // Define a note as a frequency (tone) and the amount of 
   // time (duration) the note plays.
   value struct Note
   {
   public:
      Tone toneVal;
      Duration durVal;

      // Define a constructor to create a specific note.
      Note( Tone frequency, Duration time )
      {
         toneVal = frequency;
         durVal = time;
      }


      property Tone NoteTone 
      {

         // Define properties to return the note's tone and duration.
         Tone get()
         {
            return toneVal;
         }

      }

      property Duration NoteDuration 
      {
         Duration get()
         {
            return durVal;
         }

      }

   };


protected:

   // Play the notes in a song.
   static void Play( array<Note>^ tune )
   {
      System::Collections::IEnumerator^ myEnum = tune->GetEnumerator();
      while ( myEnum->MoveNext() )
      {
         Note n =  *safe_cast<Note ^>(myEnum->Current);
         if ( n.NoteTone == Tone::REST )
                  Thread::Sleep( (int)n.NoteDuration );
         else
                  Console::Beep( (int)n.NoteTone, (int)n.NoteDuration );
      }
   }


public:
   static void Main()
   {

      // Declare the first few notes of the song, "Mary Had A Little Lamb".
      array<Note>^ Mary = {Note( Tone::B, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::A, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::GbelowC, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::A, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::B, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::B, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::B, Duration::HALF ),Note( Tone::A, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::A, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::A, Duration::HALF ),Note( Tone::B, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::D, Duration::QUARTER ),Note( Tone::D, Duration::HALF )};

      // Play the song
      Play( Mary );
   }

};

int main()
{
   Sample::Main();
}

/*
This example produces the following results:

This example plays the first few notes of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" 
through the console speaker.
*/
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0
See Also

Reference

Change History

Date

History

Reason

April 2009

Added platform information.

Content bug fix.

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