A
hum is a
soundSound is a travelling wave which is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.- Perception of sound...
made by
singingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist...
a wordless tone with the mouth completely closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the
noseAnatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the mouth....
. To
hum is to produce such a sound, most often with a
melodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
. It is difficult to hum with your nose pinched closed for more than a few seconds. It keeps the
volumeThe volume of any solid, liquid, gas, plasma, theoretical object, or vacuum is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically. One-dimensional figures and two-dimensional shapes are assigned zero volume in the three-dimensional space...
at a low level, so humming is rarely used in musical productions, with some exceptions such as
scat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with random vocables and syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice....
and
vocableIn speech, a vocable is an utterance, term, or word that is capable of being spoken and recognized. A non-lexical vocable is used without semantic role or meaning, while structure of vocables is often considered apart from any meaning...
s. Humming is sometimes used to keep the melody when the singer does not know the
lyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
.
A hum has a particular
timbreNot to be confused with timber.In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices or musical instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that mediate the perception of timbre include spectrum and envelope...
(or sound quality), usually a
monotoneMonotone refers to a sound, for example speech or music, that has a single unvaried tone. Opposite = vibratoMonotone or monotonicity may also refer to:*Monotone , repetitive and tedious activities...
or with slightly varying
tonesFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
.
A
hum is a
soundSound is a travelling wave which is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.- Perception of sound...
made by
singingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist...
a wordless tone with the mouth completely closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the
noseAnatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the mouth....
. To
hum is to produce such a sound, most often with a
melodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
. It is difficult to hum with your nose pinched closed for more than a few seconds. It keeps the
volumeThe volume of any solid, liquid, gas, plasma, theoretical object, or vacuum is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically. One-dimensional figures and two-dimensional shapes are assigned zero volume in the three-dimensional space...
at a low level, so humming is rarely used in musical productions, with some exceptions such as
scat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with random vocables and syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice....
and
vocableIn speech, a vocable is an utterance, term, or word that is capable of being spoken and recognized. A non-lexical vocable is used without semantic role or meaning, while structure of vocables is often considered apart from any meaning...
s. Humming is sometimes used to keep the melody when the singer does not know the
lyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
.
A hum has a particular
timbreNot to be confused with timber.In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices or musical instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that mediate the perception of timbre include spectrum and envelope...
(or sound quality), usually a
monotoneMonotone refers to a sound, for example speech or music, that has a single unvaried tone. Opposite = vibratoMonotone or monotonicity may also refer to:*Monotone , repetitive and tedious activities...
or with slightly varying
tonesFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
. There are other similar sounds not produced by human singing that are also called hums, such as a sound produced by machinery in operation or by an
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
in flight. The
hummingbirdHummingbirds are among the smallest of birds, and include the smallest extant bird species, the Bee Hummingbirds. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12-90 times per second . They can also fly backwards, and are the only group of birds able to do so. Their English name derives...
was named for the sound that bird makes in flight.
Meaning
Prior to the 18th century, humming was used in England as a form of
applauseApplause is primarily the expression of approval by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences are usually expected to applaud after a performance, such as a musical concert, speech, or play...
. Whole crowds would hum to show their approval of a public statement, a sermon, or a piece of news. Humming can also be attributed to being
boredBoredom is an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the opportunities surrounding them...
. The person who is bored makes an ostentatious show of humming to indicate their impatience. Humming might also be a sign of being in an uncomfortable situation in which, out of nervousness, a person starts humming. Humming can also be used to show feelings of emptiness.
See also
- The Hum
The Hum is a generic name for a series of phenomena involving a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming noise not audible to all people. Hums have been reported in various geographical locations. In some cases a source has been located. A Hum on the Big Island of Hawaii, typically related...
- an apparently widespread phenomenon involving a low-frequency hum of unknown origin, inaudible to most people
- Mains hum
Electric hum, mains hum, or power line hum is an audible oscillation of alternating current at the frequency of the mains electricity, which is usually 50 Hz or 60 Hz, depending on the local electric utility configuration...
- an electric or electromagnetic phenomenon that causes a low frequency (50 or 60 Hz) audible signal.