The Waveform Player
The waveform player is your built-in audio player for listening to tracks directly inside Producer Dashboard. It sits at the bottom of the screen and gives you a visual representation of your audio alongside standard playback controls — so you can see the shape of a track at a glance and jump to any point with a click.
No need to switch to your DAW or an external player. Everything happens inside the app.
Where the player appears
Section titled “Where the player appears”The waveform player docks to the bottom of the application window. When you start playing a track, the player bar slides up and stays visible as you navigate around the app. It persists across views so your playback is not interrupted when you switch between the grid, detail modals, or other sections.
When no track is loaded, the player bar is hidden to keep your workspace clean.
The waveform display
Section titled “The waveform display”The centrepiece of the player is the waveform visualisation. This shows the audio amplitude over time — the peaks and valleys of your track drawn as a waveform shape across the full width of the player.
Louder sections appear as taller peaks, quieter sections as shorter ones. This gives you an instant visual map of the track’s dynamics. You can spot the intro, the drop, the breakdown, and the outro just by looking at the shape.
The waveform is drawn from pre-computed waveform data, so it loads quickly even for long tracks. As the track plays, a progress indicator moves across the waveform, showing your current position.
The area behind the playhead (the portion already played) is shaded differently from the upcoming portion, giving you a clear sense of where you are in the track.
Playback controls
Section titled “Playback controls”The player provides a straightforward set of controls.
Play and pause
Section titled “Play and pause”Click the play button to start playback. Click again to pause. You can also use the spacebar as a keyboard shortcut to toggle play/pause.
Click anywhere on the waveform to jump to that point in the track. The playhead moves to your click position and playback continues from there. This is the fastest way to skip around — just click the section of the waveform you want to hear.
Previous and next track
Section titled “Previous and next track”Use the previous and next buttons to move between tracks. Which track comes next depends on the current context — in the grid view, it follows the visible track order. See Playback Modes for more about sequential playback.
Volume control
Section titled “Volume control”The volume slider lets you adjust playback level. This controls the app output volume only — it does not affect your system volume. Useful for quickly lowering the level when you need to take a call or listen to something else without reaching for your system controls.
Time display
Section titled “Time display”The player shows two time values:
- Current time — how far into the track you are, displayed as minutes and seconds (e.g., 1:34).
- Total duration — the full length of the track (e.g., 3:45).
These update in real time as the track plays. When you seek to a new position, the current time jumps to match.
Track information
Section titled “Track information”Alongside the waveform and controls, the player displays key information about the currently loaded track:
- Track name — the name of the track group (song) currently playing.
- File name — which specific file is loaded, useful when a track group contains multiple versions or stems.
This context helps you stay oriented when you are moving quickly through your library.
Loading a track
Section titled “Loading a track”There are several ways to load a track into the player:
- Click a track row in the grid. If play-on-select mode is enabled, clicking a row immediately loads and plays the track.
- Double-click a track row. In modes where single-click does not auto-play, double-clicking loads the track.
- Use the play button on a track row. Some grid layouts include a small play icon on each row.
- Open the detail modal. The player within the detail modal lets you play the track directly.
Once a track is loaded, it stays in the player until you load a different one or close the app.
Waveform colours
Section titled “Waveform colours”The waveform uses colours from the app’s design system to stay visually consistent with the rest of the interface. The played portion and the unplayed portion are rendered in different shades, and comment markers (if any) appear as coloured dots or lines along the waveform.
The colours are designed for comfortable viewing during long sessions in the dark interface.
Keyboard shortcuts
Section titled “Keyboard shortcuts”| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Play / Pause | Spacebar |
| Seek forward | Right arrow |
| Seek backward | Left arrow |
| Next track | Shift + Right arrow |
| Previous track | Shift + Left arrow |
These shortcuts work whenever the player is active, regardless of which part of the app has focus.
Performance
Section titled “Performance”The waveform player is built on the Web Audio API for reliable, low-latency playback. Waveform visualisation is pre-computed and cached, so loading a track’s waveform is nearly instant even for long files.
Playback does not block the rest of the app. You can continue editing metadata, applying tags, browsing your grid, or working in the activity panel while a track plays.
Related
Section titled “Related”- Playback Modes — play-on-select, continuous, and loop modes
- Waveform Interactions — comments, markers, and time range selection
- Versions & Stems — switch between multiple files in the player
- Player Contexts — how the player works across different views
- Supported Formats — which audio formats you can play