diff --git a/Clip.C b/Clip.C
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7323984
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Clip.C
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+
+/*******************************************************************************/
+/* Copyright (C) 2008 Jonathan Moore Liles                                     */
+/*                                                                             */
+/* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it     */
+/* under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the       */
+/* Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your      */
+/* option) any later version.                                                  */
+/*                                                                             */
+/* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT */
+/* ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or       */
+/* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for   */
+/* more details.                                                               */
+/*                                                                             */
+/* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along     */
+/* with This program; see the file COPYING.  If not,write to the Free Software */
+/* Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.  */
+/*******************************************************************************/
+
+#include "Clip.H"
+#include "Timeline.H"
+
+#include <sndfile.h>
+
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+Clip::Clip ( const char *filename ) : _peaks( this )
+{
+    _filename = filename;
+
+    SNDFILE *in;
+    SF_INFO si;
+
+    memset( &si, 0, sizeof( si ) );
+
+    in = sf_open( filename, SFM_READ, &si );
+
+    if ( si.channels != 1 )
+        printf( "error: incompatible format" );
+
+    if ( si.samplerate != timeline.sample_rate )
+        printf( "error: samplerate mismatch!\n" );
+
+    _length = si.frames;
+
+    sf_close( in );
+
+    _peaks.open( filename );
+}
+
+
+bool
+Clip::open ( void )
+{
+    SF_INFO si;
+
+    memset( &si, 0, sizeof( si ) );
+
+    if ( ! ( _in = sf_open( _filename, SFM_READ, &si ) ) )
+        return false;
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+void
+Clip::close ( void )
+{
+    sf_close( _in );
+}
+
+void
+Clip::seek ( nframes_t offset )
+{
+    sf_seek( _in, offset, SEEK_SET );
+}
+
+
+nframes_t
+Clip::read ( sample_t *buf, nframes_t len )
+{
+    return sf_read_float ( _in, buf, len );
+}
+
+/** read samples from /start/ to /end/ into /buf/ */
+nframes_t
+Clip::read ( sample_t *buf, nframes_t start, nframes_t end )
+{
+    open();
+
+    seek( start );
+
+    nframes_t len = read( buf, end - start );
+
+    close();
+
+    return len;
+}
diff --git a/Clip.H b/Clip.H
index d44fb51..29a91a6 100644
--- a/Clip.H
+++ b/Clip.H
@@ -20,9 +20,12 @@
 #pragma once
 
 typedef unsigned long nframes_t;
+typedef float sample_t;
 
 #include "Peaks.H"
 
+#include <sndfile.h>
+
 class Clip
 {
     const char *_filename;
@@ -31,20 +34,20 @@ class Clip
 
     nframes_t _length;                                              /* length of clip in samples */
 
+    SNDFILE *_in;
+
 public:
 
-    Clip ( const char *filename ) : _peaks( this )
-        {
-            _filename = filename;
-
-            // FIXME: open file
-
-            _peaks.open( filename );
-        }
+    Clip ( const char *filename );
 
     Peaks const * peaks ( void ) { return &_peaks; }
-
     const char *name ( void ) { return _filename; }
-
     nframes_t length ( void ) { return _length; }
+
+    bool open ( void );
+    void close ( void );
+    void seek ( nframes_t offset );
+    nframes_t read ( sample_t *buf, nframes_t len );
+    nframes_t read ( sample_t *buf, nframes_t start, nframes_t end );
+
 };
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 66aaebd..467803b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ CXXFLAGS=-ggdb -Wall -O0
 LIBS=-lsndfile  `fltk-config --ldflags`
 # CXXFLAGS=`fltk-config -cxxflags`
 
-SRCS= Waveform.C  Region.C  Peaks.C  main.C
+SRCS= Clip.C Waveform.C  Region.C  Peaks.C  main.C
 
 OBJS=$(SRCS:.C=.o)
 
diff --git a/Waveform.H b/Waveform.H
index b025076..743ba43 100644
--- a/Waveform.H
+++ b/Waveform.H
@@ -49,7 +49,10 @@ public:
             _scale = 1;
             label( _clip->name() );
 
+            _start = 0;
             _end = _clip->length();
+
+            size( timeline.ts_to_x( _end ), h() );
         }
 
     Waveform ( const Waveform & rhs ) : Fl_Widget( rhs.x(), rhs.y(), rhs.w(), rhs.h(), rhs.label() )