[neilep (OP)]

Hi There,

I'm Neil...a member of the Jets...and as a member of the Jets from West Side Story I get to dance, look cool and most of all..I get to click my fingers a lot !!

Recently my buddies asked me " hey Neilo !..Before Officer Krupke arrives to tell us to ged-outta-here...can ewe tell us how the 'clicking' sound is achieved when we click our fingers ? ".....now I need to look cool and smooth with a  capital ' Smoo ' so ...please tell me..

How is the ' click' sound achieved when clicking fingers...?..is  ' clapping' related to it ?

Thanks...oops..gotta rush...officer Krupke just turned up !!

[DrDick]

Hi There,

I'm Neil...a member of the Jets...and as a member of the Jets from West Side Story I get to dance, look cool and most of all..I get to click my fingers a lot !!

Recently my buddies asked me " hey Neilo !..Before Officer Krupke arrives to tell us to ged-outta-here...can ewe tell us how the 'clicking' sound is achieved when we click our fingers ? ".....now I need to look cool and smooth witha  cpaital ' Smoo ' so ...please tell me..

How is the ' click' sound achieved when clicking fingers...?..is  ' clapping' related to it ?

Thanks...oops..gotta rush...officer Krupke just turned up !!

What I've noticed is that it is related to clapping.  It's the sound of your finger hitting your hand.

Dick

[neilep (OP)]

This is interesting..THANK YOU DrDick...so it's not the action of the two fingers compressed and flicking..it's the sound of the finger after colliding with the hand after being ' sprung ' away ?

very interesting.....but I'm just not too sure as the sound seems to clearly come from the fingertips of the two fingers !!....it's viable though

THANK YOU

[paul.fr]

I have tried this with an oscilloscope, and detected two sounds! I think the first is the friction of the finger and thumb rubbing against eachother, and the second possibly the snap of cartlidge.

[neilep (OP)]

I have tried this with an oscilloscope, and detected two sounds! I think the first is the friction of the finger and thumb rubbing against eachother, and the second possibly the snap of cartlidge.

Wow you used an oscilloscope...that must have been awkward to get between those two fingers !!


This is very interesting....so now cartilage is coming into the equation !!..Thanks paul.

Where is your oscilloscope ?..in the garage ?..garden shed ?

[paul.fr]

Oops, i mean fluid in the joints not cartlidge.

[paul.fr]

I did it at college years ago. And they were my conclusions, although dick may be right about the finger slapping the palm, but there is two sounds not one

[another_someone]

The clicking of the fingers does seem to be the sound of the impact of the finger against the bone and cartilage at the base of the thump, not unlike hitting two sticks together.

Clapping is quite different (although there may be different forms of clapping).  Because one does not have the spring/release action when clapping that one has when clicking the fingers, there is not really enough velocity to have the significant sound from impact alone available when clapping.  The main sound that I tend to hear when clapping my hands is the explosive release of air as the air caught between the hollows in the palms of the hand gets squeezed through the ever narrower gap left separating the two hands (a little like the explosive release of air when you burst a paper bag full of air).  In my experience, the explosive force of the air from a clap is sufficient to stun, and possibly kill, a moth flying within an inch or two of a clap (but not physically touched by the hands, only by the force of air).  Certainly, a moth caught within the hollows of a clapping hand, while physically apparently intact (the hollows not having crushed the moth at all) will certainly fall to the ground dead when the hands are separated.

[lightarrow]

This is interesting..THANK YOU DrDick...so it's not the action of the two fingers compressed and flicking..it's the sound of the finger after colliding with the hand after being ' sprung ' away ?
very interesting.....but I'm just not too sure as the sound seems to clearly come from the fingertips of the two fingers !!....it's viable though
THANK YOU

If you don't believe him, you can make a very simple experiment: put a little piece of paper or other thin substance on the thumb base, and snap again.
The sound is the same or not?
(I have made it, but I don't tell you, until you report your experiment!)

[neilep (OP)]

This is interesting..THANK YOU DrDick...so it's not the action of the two fingers compressed and flicking..it's the sound of the finger after colliding with the hand after being ' sprung ' away ?
very interesting.....but I'm just not too sure as the sound seems to clearly come from the fingertips of the two fingers !!....it's viable though
THANK YOU

If you don't believe him, you can make a very simple experiment: put a little piece of paper or other thin substance on the thumb base, and snap again.
The sound is the same or not?
(I have made it, but I don't tell you, until you report your experiment!)

Thank You Lightarrow

As a firm believer in empirical study I have indeed just conducted this experiment !!...The DrDick is correct...!!


Thanks also go to Another_someone for his detail within his post .

THANK YOU ALL !!

[paul.fr]

What a simple, yet excellent way to find out Lightarrow. But there is definately two sounds. we can say with some certanty that one is the click of the finger on to the plam, but what is the other? is it the cartlidge?

Like i said it was a long time ago since i tried this with an oscilloscope, does anyone have one at home or work to try and isolate the sound/s.

[lightarrow]

What a simple, yet excellent way to find out Lightarrow. But there is definately two sounds. we can say with some certanty that one is the click of the finger on to the plam, but what is the other? is it the cartlidge?

Like i said it was a long time ago since i tried this with an oscilloscope, does anyone have one at home or work to try and isolate the sound/s.

I don't have any reason not to believe you. I assume however that the impact of the finger against the thumb's basis is the most relevant sound (even if I can't prove it!)

[paul.fr]

What a simple, yet excellent way to find out Lightarrow. But there is definately two sounds. we can say with some certanty that one is the click of the finger on to the plam, but what is the other? is it the cartlidge?

Like i said it was a long time ago since i tried this with an oscilloscope, does anyone have one at home or work to try and isolate the sound/s.

I don't have any reason not to believe you. I assume however that the impact of the finger against the thumb's basis is the most relevant sound (even if I can't prove it!)

yes, i agree. i would say that the finger to thumb base is the most relevant and the one we hear. the second one so quickly follows that we do not hear it.

it would be nice to have the answer to what the second one is.

[neilep (OP)]

I am becoming more convinced that the second sound not just adds substance but also enhances the first sound too !

There is a definitive ' thwack'  coming from the first encounter and as has been mentioned the core of the sound comes form the collision of finger to thumb base !

This is great..I can now impress the rest of my gang buddies with my explanation...


*snaps fingers* Click click click click


When you're a Jet,
You're a Jet all the way
From your first cigarette
To your last dyin' day.

When you're a Jet,
If the spit hits the fan,
You got brothers around,
You're a family man!

You're never alone,
You're never disconnected!
You're home with your own:
When company's expected,
You're well protected!

Then you are set
With a capital J,
Which you'll never forget
Till they cart you away.
When you're a Jet,
You stay a Jet!

[Karen W.]

I am becoming more convinced that the second sound not just adds substance but also enhances the first sound too !

There is a definitive ' thwack'  coming from the first encounter and as has been mentioned the core of the sound comes form the collision of finger to thumb base !

This is great..I can now impress the rest of my gang buddies with my explanation...


*snaps fingers* Click click click click


When you're a Jet,
You're a Jet all the way
From your first cigarette
To your last dyin' day.

When you're a Jet,
If the spit hits the fan,
You got brothers around,
You're a family man!

You're never alone,
You're never disconnected!
You're home with your own:
When company's expected,
You're well protected!

Then you are set
With a capital J,
Which you'll never forget
Till they cart you away.
When you're a Jet,
You stay a Jet!

HEE HEE HEE!!! LOL Hey just click your thumb and and middle fingers Leave the index in the air.. I am only hearing a very small swishat the end and really hardly noticeable at all!

[Guttedpiggy]

yeah it is your finger hitting the bit beneath your thumb, if you put a finger where your clicking finger would hit it wouldnt make the noise anymore well it will because it hits the finger, but no where near as strong..