Ancient Greek audiences stamped their feet rather than clapping their hands to applaud.
One theory is that the tradition of clapping dates back to 1473 and an early outbreak of cholera. Slapping your hands together was a signal to those around that you were infected. Eventually it became a token of applause, a way of keeping time, and then, by the 1800s, a musical device in its own right.
A claquer was a professional applauder who was hired to clap, laugh or cry into their hanky in French theaters and opera houses in the 1800s.
Most audiences, for reasons hitherto un-researched, tend to clap on the first and third beats of every 4/4 bar.
In Japan, rhythmic handclapping, or tejime, is used ceremonially to celebrate the end of a special event.
If you clap your hands at the base of a Chichen Itza pyramid, it makes a "bird" sound.
Some holistic doctors reckon that engaging in a bit of clapping stimulates certain areas of the brain, which could explain its popularity in forms of musical prayer, from bhajan to gospel.
A group of people that are hired to clap at a performance are called a claque.
The world record for the most number of claps in 60 seconds is held by a man called Kent "Toasty" French.
Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White has been the hostess of the show since 1982. She was given the Guinness World Record for clapping in 1992. With an estimated 100,000 individual claps per season, it has been calculated that White has clapped about 3.5 million times in her decades as co-host.
Source The Guardian March 23, 2009
One theory is that the tradition of clapping dates back to 1473 and an early outbreak of cholera. Slapping your hands together was a signal to those around that you were infected. Eventually it became a token of applause, a way of keeping time, and then, by the 1800s, a musical device in its own right.
A claquer was a professional applauder who was hired to clap, laugh or cry into their hanky in French theaters and opera houses in the 1800s.
Most audiences, for reasons hitherto un-researched, tend to clap on the first and third beats of every 4/4 bar.
In Japan, rhythmic handclapping, or tejime, is used ceremonially to celebrate the end of a special event.
If you clap your hands at the base of a Chichen Itza pyramid, it makes a "bird" sound.
Some holistic doctors reckon that engaging in a bit of clapping stimulates certain areas of the brain, which could explain its popularity in forms of musical prayer, from bhajan to gospel.
A group of people that are hired to clap at a performance are called a claque.
The world record for the most number of claps in 60 seconds is held by a man called Kent "Toasty" French.
Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White has been the hostess of the show since 1982. She was given the Guinness World Record for clapping in 1992. With an estimated 100,000 individual claps per season, it has been calculated that White has clapped about 3.5 million times in her decades as co-host.
Source The Guardian March 23, 2009
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