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.

A Georgia Institute of Technology study in 2021 analyzed finger snapping, and found that a given audible snap sound occurs in just seven milliseconds. For reference, the blink of an eye takes place in 150 milliseconds. ^{[1] [2]}

In culture

Pan, god of nature and the wild, and a Maenad dancing. Ancient Greek red-figured olpe from Apulia, c. 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 ^[3] and it was known with the words "ἀποληκέω" (apolekeo), ^[4] "ἀποκρότημα" (apokrotema) ^[5] (from the verb "ἀποκροτέω" - apokroteo, "to snap the fingers") ^[6] and "ἐπίπταισμα" (epiptaisma). ^[7] Finger snapping is still common in modern Greece.

Finger snapping may be used as a substitute for hand clapping. A possible reason is that snapping is less disruptive than clapping during speeches and announcements." ^[8] The practice of finger snapping is also popular within the poetry slam community, used by the audience as a spontaneous in-the-moment show of support or agreement with what is being shared by the poet. The practice has also infiltrated some conferences. ^[9]

Finger snapping played a prominent part in a series of charity appeal adverts for Make Poverty History in 2005. Many famous faces including Bono, Bob Geldof and Kate Moss took part in the appeals. They wore a white top and Make Poverty History charity wristband and these appeals were filmed in grayscale on a white background, and they would click their fingers in the appeal to represent a child dying from poverty every three seconds in Africa. ^[10] During the opening of the Philadelphia Live 8 concert, rapper and actor Will Smith led the combined audiences of London, Philadelphia, Berlin, Rome, Paris and Barrie in a synchronised finger snap. ^{[11] [12]}

Pop culture

Finger snapping at someone has long been used as a sassy diva gesture, done to express a taunting satisfaction following what one has considered to be an impressive insult or diss. ^[13] Sometimes finger-snapping is done in rapid succession for emphasis and combined with other types of sassy diva mannerisms, such as swivel-hipping and head-gyrating. It is largely associated with gay men and women, particularly gay black American men and black American women. It was derived in the 1980s and 90s from Black American gay male subcultures. ^{[14] [15]}

In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Thanos snaps his fingers causing the Blip. ^[16] In the manga and anime " Full Metal Alchemist" Colonel Roy Mustang activates his Alchemy by snapping his fingers.

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. Furthermore, a subgenre of hip hop known as snap music formed in the early 2000s in the southern United States.

Persian variant

Beshkan ( Persian: بشكن), also known as the "Persian snap", is a traditional Iranian finger snap requiring both hands. The snapper creates a 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: ^[17]

• 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.

References