Finding Your Groove: How to Choose Music That Complements Your Tap Style
Your feet are your instrument. But the music you choose is the stage on which they sing. Here’s how to build a symbiotic relationship between your tap style and your soundtrack.
It starts with a feeling—a rhythm in your bones, a pulse in your feet. You hear a song, and suddenly your toes are twitching, your heels are itching to find the downbeat. That’s the magic. But moving from instinct to intention in your music selection is what separates a good tap dancer from a truly compelling one. The right track doesn't just accompany your steps; it converses with them, challenges them, and ultimately, elevates them.
Know Thyself: Defining Your Tap Personality
Before you scroll through a single playlist, you need to get honest about your own style. Are you a powerhouse with explosive, percussive strikes? A lyrical flow artist who weaves melodies with your toes? A rhythmic mathematician obsessed with complex polyrhythms? Your inherent tendencies are the compass for your music hunt.
The Percussionist
Style: Bold, clean, attack-oriented. You love sharp accents and making a statement.
- Music Match: Funk, rock, big band, hip-hop with strong backbeats.
- Artists to Try: The Meters, Rage Against The Machine, Buddy Rich, Anderson .Paak.
- Listen For: Crisp snares, punchy horns, and a solid, unshakable groove.
The Melodist
Style: Smooth, fluid, legato. You prioritize musicality and phrasing over sheer volume.
- Music Match: Jazz standards, blues, soul, acoustic folk, cinematic scores.
- Artists to Try: Miles Davis, Norah Jones, Gregory Porter, Ólafur Arnalds.
- Listen For: Expressive horn or vocal lines, space between phrases, emotional swells.
The Rhythm Weaver
Style: Intricate, syncopated, layered. You live in the "and" counts and love a good challenge.
- Music Match: Afro-Cuban jazz, math rock, progressive electronic, complex hip-hop.
- Artists to Try: Snarky Puppy, Tigran Hamasyan, Flying Lotus, J Dilla.
- Listen For: Odd time signatures, polyrhythmic patterns, and textured sonic landscapes.
Beyond Genre: The Elements to Dissect
Genre is a starting point, but the devil—and the divine—is in the details. Break songs down into their component parts to see if they truly fit.
Tempo & Feel: Is it a driving 4/4 or a lilting 6/8? Does it swing or is it straight? A song can be the right BPM but the wrong *feel* for your movement quality.
Dynamic Range: Does the music have quiet moments you can whisper in, and big crescendos you can explode onto? Music with no dynamic variation can leave your dance feeling flat.
Instrumentation & Texture: A track dominated by bass and drums offers a different canvas than one filled with strings or synth pads. Sparse textures give your taps room to be heard as part of the band. Dense textures require more strategic, punctuated movements.
The Space Between the Notes: This is crucial. The most tap-friendly music often has rhythmic or melodic "breathing room." It’s in these spaces that your taps become the lead instrument, answering the melody or adding a counter-rhythm.
Pro-Tip: The "First Listen" Test
When you find a potential song, don't start choreographing immediately. Just listen. Close your eyes. Where do your feet naturally want to go? Do you hear fills? Do you imagine breaks? Your body's first, unforced reaction is often the most truthful guide to a song's potential.
The Experimentation Zone: Unexpected Pairings
Growth happens outside the comfort zone. Try dancing to something that seems antithetical to your style.
The Percussionist? Try a minimalist ambient track. It forces you to explore texture and subtlety.
The Melodist? Throw on some aggressive electronic dance music. Discover how melody can exist within relentless rhythm.
The Rhythm Weaver? Challenge yourself with a simple, soulful ballad. Find complexity in emotional delivery and phrasing, not just in rhythmic density.
These experiments won’t always yield performance pieces, but they will expand your musicality and make your primary style richer and more nuanced.
Building Your Ultimate Tap Library
Start a dedicated playlist or folder. Organize it by mood, tempo, or style intention ("Warm-up Grooves," "Technical Drills," "Showstoppers," "Lyrical Exploration"). Include not just full songs, but also instrumental stems or loops you find. Sometimes the perfect groove is a 10-second clip on repeat. Use music apps that let you slow down tracks without changing pitch for learning complex sections.
Ultimately, the music that complements your tap style is the music that makes you listen differently. It makes you hear rhythms within rhythms, melodies in the silence, and stories in the beat. It’s not just a backdrop; it’s a co-writer of your movement story. So put on those headphones, hit play on something new, and listen—not just with your ears, but with the soles of your feet. Your groove is out there, waiting for you to find the beat.
