Finger snapping - wikipedia Finger snapping For the percussionist technique, see Fingersnapping. `` Thumb snapping '' redirects here. For other uses, see Thumb snap. Play media A video of finger snapping Play media Alternative snapping technique Snapping ( or clicking ) one 's fingers is the act of creating a snapping or clicking sound with one 's fingers. Primarily this is done by building tension between the thumb and another ( middle, index, or ring ) finger and then moving the other finger forcefully downward so it hits the palm of the same hand at a high speed. Contents 1 In culture 2 In music 3 Beshkan, Persian variant 3.1 Technique 4 References In culture Pan, god of nature and the wild, and a Maenad dancing. Ancient Greek red - figured olpe from Apulia, ca. 320 -- 310 BCE. Pan 's right hand fingers are in a snapping position. In Ancient Greece snapping of fingers was used by musicians and dancers as a way to keep the rhythm and it was known with the words `` ἀποληκέω '' ( apolekeo ), `` ἀποκρότημα '' ( apokrotema ) ( from the verb `` ἀποκροτέω '' - apokroteo, `` to snap the fingers '' ) and `` ἐπίπταισμα '' ( epiptaisma ). Finger snapping is still common in modern Greece. Finger snapping may be used as a substitute for hand clapping. The University of Michigan Men 's Glee Club has a long tradition of doing this. The club 's history states, `` The reason behind this ( as legend goes ) is you ca n't clap and hold a beer ( at the same time ) ! Another possible reason is that snapping is less disruptive than clapping during speeches and announcements. '' Finger snapping at poetry readings has become traditional. Snapping one 's fingers abruptly and repetitively, often in conjunction with one or more spoken exclamations, is commonly employed in getting someone else 's attention. In music In many cultures, finger snapping is a form of body percussion. Sounds of a fingersnap also are sampled and used in many disparate genres of music, used mostly as percussion ; the works of Angelo Badalamenti exhibit this in the soundtracks to, e.g., Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, as does the theme song from the television series The Addams Family & `` The Andy Griffith Show Theme Song ''. Beshkan, Persian variant Beshkan ( Persian : بشكن ), also known as the `` Persian snap '', is a traditional Iranian finger snap requiring both hands. The snapper creates a crackling / clicking noise similar in mechanism to the normal snap but louder in practice. Technique There are two variations of the Persian snap. The most common of the two for a right - handed individual is as follows : Place hands together and rotate until the three right hand fingers are at the junction of the hand and fingers. Rest the right middle finger on the left hand securely. Then using the tension provided by the left thumb, snap the right index finger onto the gap between the junction and right middle finger. The Persian hand snap found its way to the UK through the dexterous hands of British soldier Samuel Taylor, of Leeds, who had learnt the snap whilst stationed abroad and brought it back to England, where it eventually became a craze amongst school children. Consequently, in some parts of Yorkshire it is often referred to as a Taylor Snap. References Jump up ^ Martin Litchfield West, Ancient Greek music, Oxford University Press, 199 Jump up ^ ἀποληκέω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek - English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library Jump up ^ ἀποκρότημα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek - English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library Jump up ^ ἀποκροτέω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek - English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library Jump up ^ ἐπίπταισμα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek - English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library Jump up ^ `` University of Michigan Men 's Glee Club About History_html_5 ''. Ummgc.org. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 28. Jump up ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3323166/Some-college-students-Yale-Brown-prefer-finger-snapping-applause.html Jump up ^ `` How To Beshkan, when you feel you beshkant ''. YouTube. 2009 - 04 - 15. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 28. ^ Jump up to : Hand Gestures. Amazon. 2017 - 02 - 12. ASIN 0674018370. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Finger_snapping&oldid=824191611 '' Categories : Body percussion Hand gestures Hidden categories : Articles containing video clips Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български فارسی Italiano עברית 日本 語 ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Suomi తెలుగు Türkçe 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 5 February 2018, at 21 : 36. About Wikipedia

Question: where does the sound from a snap come from
Answer: building tension between the thumb and another (middle, index, or ring) finger and then moving the other finger forcefully downward so it hits the palm of the same hand at a high speed