MonoGame Audio Implementation Guide

This skill guides implementation of audio systems in MonoGame. For detailed API signatures, see references/audio.md.

Choosing the Right Audio Class

Class	Use case
`SoundEffect`	Short clips (SFX, UI sounds). Loaded entirely in memory. Call `Play()` for a fire-and-forget shot.
`SoundEffectInstance`	When you need control: loop, pause, resume, adjust volume/pitch at runtime. One instance = one concurrent voice.
`Song` + `MediaPlayer`	Background music. Streams from disk. Only one `Song` plays at a time.
`DynamicSoundEffectInstance`	Procedural audio, WAV streaming, microphone echo. You push PCM buffers manually.

Never use Song for short SFX — it streams from disk and has latency. Never use SoundEffect.Play() when you need to stop or loop — use a SoundEffectInstance instead.

Loading Audio

Always load in LoadContent(), never in Update() or Draw():

monogame-audio

MonoGame Audio Implementation Guide

Choosing the Right Audio Class

Loading Audio