Manualism (hand music)

Manualism is the art of playing music by squeezing air through the hands. Because the sound produced has a distinctly flatulent tone, such music is usually presented as a form of musical comedy or parody. The musical performer is called a manualist, who may perform a cappella or with instrumental accompaniment.

Playing recognizable tunes by squeezing the hands together is extremely difficult, and could take many years of practice to master the art.^[1] Some manualists practice for as many as 30 years before finally reaching a presentable level of proficiency.^{[citation needed]}