Why does a rubber band sing when you twang it?

Stretch a rubber band between your fingers. Now pull it gently and let go. Twang! Can you hear that buzzy little hum?

It sounds like the band is singing a tiny song. Yet a rubber band has no mouth and no voice. So why does a rubber band sing when you twang it?

When you pull the band, you stretch it to one side. A stretchy band always pulls itself back to straight. As soon as you let go, it zooms back toward the middle.

The band moves so fast that it zooms right past the middle. Then it pulls itself back the other way. Back and forth it goes, again and again.

This super fast shaking has a special name. The band starts to quiver, which means shaking back and forth very fast. That is why the band looks blurry and fuzzy while it sings.

All around the band is air. You cannot see the air, but it is everywhere, touching the band. What do you think the quivering band does to the air right beside it?

Each time the band quivers, it gives the air a tiny push. Push, push, push, more times than you could ever count! Now the air next to the band starts to shake too.

That shaking air bumps the air beside it. Then that air bumps the next bit of air. The shake travels along like a ripple across a pond, all the way to your ears.

Inside your ear, the shaking air gives quick taps. Your ear feels every tap and tells your brain. Your brain hears those taps as the band's humming song.

Let's remember one word: quiver. Your pull makes the band quiver, and its quiver shakes the air to your ears.

Sweet dreams, little listener, and may your night be full of soft and gentle hums.