Minecraft Playsound command guide: How to use and what it does

Commands are some of the most powerful ways to interact with your Minecraft worlds. These features can do things like apply permanent potion effects, change biomes, and even locate any structure. One of the more interesting commands found in the game is the Playsound command, which, as the name suggests, can play any sound that you might run into.

Everything about how the Playsound command functions and how to use it properly can be found in detail below.

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All about the Playsound Minecraft command

What it does

Even block sounds can be imitated with the Playsound command (Image via Mojang)

As previously mentioned, the Playsound Minecraft command is able to play any sound, but there's quite a bit more depth to it. The full syntax for the command is:

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

The most interesting parameters of the command are the target, pitch, and volume parameters. Being able to randomly cause creeper hisses or warden rumbles around a player is a great way to mess with friends on a private server. Additionally, getting to mess with the pitch of the sound can create some truly unnerving noises.

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How to use the Playsound command

1) Launch the game

The 1.21.1 title screen (Image via Mojang)

The first step to use the Playsound command in the game is to open it. There's a version of the command available on both Java and Bedrock, meaning you can use this command on either version of the game, depending on personal preference. That said, the syntax for Bedrock is much more involved, making it much more difficult to use than the Java version.

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2) Join a world

A list of available worlds (Image via Mojang)

You'll probably want to hop into a Minecraft creative mode world next to mess around with the command alone. Nothing would be more embarrassing than messing the command up and sending a botched chat message that gives away what you're trying to do.

Once you've figured out a specific version of the command you want to use on a Minecraft Realm or server, you can simply copy it out of chat to use in a different world.

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3) Open chat

Hitting the "/" is a great way to save a bit of time when using several commands (Image via Mojang)

To actually mess around with the command, you'll need to open chat. You can either hit the default key of "T" and then type forward slash, or open a version of chat ready for a command by hitting the "/" key.

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4) Type the command

A typed-out version of the Playsound command (Image via Mojang)

Once the chat is open, type out a version of the command using the above syntax as a base.

• /playsound minecraft:entity.creeper.primed hostile username ~ ~ ~ 2 1 1

For example, the previously listed command will play the iconic hissing creeper sound effect in the specified player's ear at moderate volume. If your target happens to be mining or exploring a Minecraft cave, this might be enough to give them a jump, making for an excellent prank.