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A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), but also in rhythm as a form of body percussion to match the sounds in music, dance, , , and .
Some people slap the back of one hand into the palm of the other hand to signify urgency or enthusiasm. This act may be considered uncouth by others.
Clapping is used in many forms of music. In American music, clapping is popular in funk, gospel music, doo-wop and early Pop music. In flamenco and sevillanas, two Spanish musical genres, clapping is called palmas and often sets the rhythm and is an integral part of the songs. A sampled or synthesized clap is also a staple of electronic music and pop music.
Classical works which include clapping
The clapping patterns known as keplok are important in Javanese gamelan. A type of synthesized clap is popular in many rap music and hip hop songs as well. This is derived from and mimics the technique used in older popular music (e.g. disco and funk of the 1970s), in which multiple instances of real handclaps were recorded or a single recording was made of a group of performers clapping in unison. This was usually done for the purpose of reinforcing the snare drum beat on the 2nd and 4th beats of the bar (offbeat). Modern R&B, hip hop, and rap often omit the snare drum, making the claps a more obvious and central feature of the beat.
It is also used to teach phonological awareness to students who learn the ways words are constructed. They often clap out syllables to learn to break words into their component sounds.
In the mid 2010s, a practice of clapping as a way to emphasize talking points emerged among African American women, especially when clapping out individual syllables in words. This was pointed out in popular media by the comedian Robin Thede on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. It has since become more widely applied both online, often using the "hand clap" emoji, and in person.
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