1. Create a new Xamarin.Android application named PlayAudio.

2. Add a sub folder named raw under Resources.

3. Add a file named test.mp3 under raw.

4. In the Activity, create a class variable for the MediaPlayer.

MediaPlayer _player;

5. In the OnCreate method, call MediaPlayer.Create(), passing the context and the resource identifier for the mp3.

_player = MediaPlayer.Create(this, Resource.Raw.test);

6. Call the Start method of the MediaPlayer.

_player.Start();

When the audio to play is included as a resource, the MediaPlayer.Create method can be used to set up the data source to the audio file and prepare the player for playback automatically. If the audio were at a location such as on the web or an SD card, the application would have to set the datasource and call Prepare (or PrepareAsync) before starting playback.