Years ago, I worked as a stage hand for the José Greco Dance Company, back when José Sr. was still in the show (now, Pépé, his son, leads it). I learned there two forms of clapping - what they called the Flaminco style and the Arabic style. I found the different sounds they produced fascinating then, and I still practice and experiment with different clapping sounds.
The Arabic style was the easiest to learn. You shape your hands into a tiger-claw shape, and bring them together so that the fingers interlock. The sound is produced from the two cups of the palms coming together.
The Flaminco style, however, is much more difficult. In it, you bring the fingers from one hand over the cup of the second hand, and the second hand's heel hits the first hand's cup. The sound is very distinct, and appears in all kinds of Spanish music. I've been practicing it off and on for years, and I still have trouble finding the "sweet spot" that makes this sound.
Today, I happened to be wearing a cheap pair of latex gloves, and I found that wearing those while clapping added a nice "snap" to the sound.
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