Humming

A hum is a sound made by humming a wordless tone with the mouth opened or closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the nose. To hum is to produce such a sound, most often with a melody. It is difficult to hum with your nose pinched closed for more than a few seconds. It keeps the volume at a low level, so humming is rarely used in musical productions, with some exceptions such as scat singing and vocables. Humming is sometimes used to keep the melody when the singer does not know the lyrics.

A hum has a particular timbre (or sound quality), usually a monotone or with slightly varying tones. 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 insect in flight. The hummingbird was named for the sound that bird makes in flight.

Meaning

A hummingbird with flower

Prior to the 18th century, singing was used in England as a form of applause. Whole crowds would hum to show their approval of a public statement, a sermon, or a piece of news. We still use humming as a signal of approval during everyday communication (for example, when talking on the phone, we often produce humming "Uh-huh" to show our approval). An informal research conducted by the London zoo found out that humans mostly hum when they feel very well. Humming can also upset listeners, particularly if the humming is out of tune. Humming can also be attributed to being bored. 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.

Humming in human evolution

Joseph Jordania suggested that humming could have played an important role in the early human (hominid) evolution as contact calls. Many social animals produce seemingly haphazard and indistinct sounds (like chicken cluck) when they are going about their everyday business (foraging, feeding). These sounds have two functions: (1) to let group members know that they are among kin and there is no danger, and (2) in case of the appearance of any signs of danger (suspicious sounds, movements in a forest), the animal that notices danger first, stops moving, stops producing sounds, remains silent and looks in the direction of the danger sign. Other animals quickly follow suit and very soon all the group is silent and is scanning the environment for the possible danger. Charles Darwin was the first to notice this phenomenon on the example of the wild horses and the cattle (Darwin, Descent of Men, 2004:123). Jordania suggested that for humans, as for many social animals, silence can be a sign of danger, and that's why gentle humming and musical sounds relax humans (see the use of gentle music in music therapy, lullabies).

Music

Humming is often used in music of genres, from classical to jazz to R&B.

See also

• Kazoo
• The Hum - an apparently widespread phenomenon involving a low-frequency hum of unknown origin, inaudible to most people
• Mains hum - an electric or electromagnetic phenomenon that causes a low frequency (50 or 60 Hz) audible signal

External links

• Humming makes you happy! - News - ZSL London Zoo - ZSL