How to Snap Your Fingers

Doing a Basic Snap

Press your thumb to your middle finger. Begin by resting the pad (the flat, fleshy part) of your thumb against the pad of your middle finger. Don't use the tips of your fingers — you want the soft, squishy parts to meet. A good way to get the right positioning is to pretend you're picking up something heavy with your thumb and middle finger. To start, practice with your dominant hand (the same one you use to write). When you master the basic snap, you can try with your other hand.

Fold your ring finger and pinky down. Without moving your thumb and middle finger, take your ring finger and pinky and rest them gently against the heel of your palm or the base of your thumb — wherever feels natural. Try to leave a little room at the base of the thumb for your middle finger to snap against the fleshy part at the bottom. These fingers aren't involved in the snap, but this part is crucial. The ring finger and pinky basically "prop up" the rest of the hand, allowing you to use more force when you snap (and thus get a louder sound).

Build up a little pressure between your thumb and middle finger. Now, start to press your thumb and middle finger together, but don't let either one move out of the way yet. Press fairly hard here — a little harder then may feel natural at first. There should be enough pressure to turn the tips of your fingers a little red. The more pressure you build up, the more power behind your snap. While it's hard to hurt yourself this way, if you feel pain, you're pressing a little too hard.

Listen for the Snap! Move your index finger down so it rests against your thumb without letting up on the pressure. Move the thumb from the middle finger to the index finger. Your middle finger should slide off of your thumb and "snap" towards your palm. It should hit the fleshy base of your thumb and make a sharp cracking sound. Congratulations — you've just snapped your fingers. Don't worry if you can't get it on the first try. This is something many people have difficulty with at first, but once you get it, it quickly becomes easy. See below for tips on getting your snap just right.

Practice this snapping motion until it comes naturally. The only way to get better at finger snapping is to do it! Once you get your first good, loud "snap," try to replicate your motions exactly until you get good results again. Within a few days, you should be able to snap fairly consistently. If you can't seem to get a good snapping noise, try a few more times and make sure you're doing the following: Keeping good pressure between your thumb and middle finger until you make your snap Keeping your ring finger and pinky folded firmly down against your palm Leaving enough room at the base of your thumb for your middle finger to hit — your middle finger should not end up behind your ring finger If you're still having little success, try one of the alternate methods below — some people find them easier.

Using Alternate Methods

Try snapping with your ring finger. Though the middle finger usually gives easier, louder, "sharper" snaps, some people prefer using their ring finger to snap. The basic approach here is to simply do the basic snapping motion, only with your thumb shifted down one finger. In other words: Press the pad of your thumb against the pad of your ring finger. Fold your pinky down against your palm or the base of your thumb. Build up pressure between your thumb and ring finger. This can be easier if you move your middle finger and index finger down next to it. Slide your thumb from your ring finger to your middle finger. Your ring finger should snap down and smack against the base of your thumb, making a snapping sound.

Try shaking your hand to get a louder snap. Some people are able to get exceptionally loud snaps by essentially putting their whole arm into the snapping motion, snapping as they whip their hand down. Be careful not to over-do the hand motions here — you can give yourself a sore wrist if you use too much force. To snap with this method: Get ready to do a normal snap. Press your thumb against your middle finger (or ring finger, if you prefer), fold the ring finger and pinky down (just the pinky if you're snapping with your ring finger), and build up pressure. Turn your palm so that it faces to the side (in the direction of your torso). Your arm should be loose and relaxed from the wrist through the elbow. In one quick, smooth motion, bring your elbow in and turn your palm up. Then, bring your elbow out and whip your hand down, turning your wrist so that your palm faces the ground. Snap as you whip your hand! If you're successful, you should get an extra-loud snap. Keep practicing if you don't get it at first. This one can take some time.

Try doing a "double" snap. When you've gotten the hang of doing one snap at once, try to make two. It's tricky to get the same level of volume with this technique, but getting the double snap sound itself isn't that difficult. To do a double snap: Get ready to do a ring finger snap. Your thumb and ring finger should be pressed together, with your pinky folded down and your other two fingers lined up next to your ring finger. You must start on the ring finger — you can't do a double snap starting on your middle finger. Build up pressure against your ring finger. Keep your middle and index finger close to it. Slide your thumb to your middle finger without letting up on the pressure, then quickly slide it to your index finger without pausing. If you do this right, your ring finger should snap against the flesh of your palm immediately followed by your middle finger, making two quick (but separate) snapping sounds. Try practicing this rapid-fire double snap along to your favorite song!

Try snapping with both hands. What use is knowing how to snap if you can't recreate your favorite scenes from West Side Story? Snapping with both hands is easy — it's simply a matter of building up your strength and technique in your non-dominant hand with practice once you've mastered snapping with your dominant hand. Any of the techniques above can work for your non-dominant hand, so experiment until you find the one you like the best! For an added challenge, try using two different snapping techniques at once! For instance, you might try doing normal snaps with your right hand and double snaps with your left.