audio - Playing mp3 file through microphone with python

Question

Is there a way using python (and not any external software) to play a mp3 file like a microphone input?

For example, I have a mp3 file and with a python script it would play it through my mic so other in a voice room would hear it. As I say it is just an example.

Of course, I have done some research. I found out that I can use a software to create a virtual device and do few things to have the result. But my point is if it is possible without installing software but with some kind of python script?

Answer 1

It is possible but it isn't 100% in python as it requires the installation of other software. (Also from what I know this specific answer only works on Windows, but it should be similar on Linux with PulseAudio instead of VB-Audio Cable, but I'm not a daily Linux user so I don't know.)

First download: https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/, this will create a "Virtual Audio Cable" where programs can play music to the input device (What looks like a speaker) and it'll pipe it to the output device (What looks like a microphone).

Then run this command in cmd: pip install pygame==2.0.0.dev8 (or py -m pip install pygame==2.0.0.dev8, depending on your installation of python) [Also the reason it's the dev version is that it requires some functions only in sdl2, whereas the main branch uses sdl1)

Then:

>>> from pygame._sdl2 import get_num_audio_devices, get_audio_device_name #Get playback device names
>>> from pygame import mixer #Playing sound
>>> mixer.init() #Initialize the mixer, this will allow the next command to work
>>> [get_audio_device_name(x, 0).decode() for x in range(get_num_audio_devices(0))] #Returns playback devices
['Headphones (Oculus Virtual Audio Device)', 'MONITOR (2- NVIDIA High Definition Audio)', 'Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)', 'Speakers (NVIDIA RTX Voice)', 'CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)']
>>> mixer.quit() #Quit the mixer as it's initialized on your main playback device
>>> mixer.init(devicename='CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)') #Initialize it with the correct device
>>> mixer.music.load("Megalovania.mp3") #Load the mp3
>>> mixer.music.play() #Play it

To stop the music do: mixer.music.stop()

Also, the music doesn't play through your speakers, so you're going to have another python script or thread running that handles playing it through your speakers. (Also if you want it to play on a button press I recommend using the python library keyboard, the GitHub documentation is really good and you should be able to figure it out on your own.)

PS: This took me a while to figure out, your welcome.

PPS: I'm still trying to figure out a way to pipe your own mic through there as well since this method will obviously not pipe your real microphone in too, but looking into the source code of pygame is making my head hurt due to it all being written in C.