Hello to all and welcome back,

Today I just wanted to discuss the beauty of a well placed pause.

Having recently been watching some wonderful tapping You Tube Clips from around the globe, it has really reinforced my belief that a ” missed beat” or well placed ” pause ” can add wonders to any piece of tap choreography or combination.

It seems that sometimes, we can be in such a rush to pack as many beats as possible into a small phrase, that the art of the “pause” or “missed beat” is sometimes overlooked.

So what is a ” missed beat?”

Well – it is simply a beat in any rhythmic phrase that is left empty of sound.

Let’s take this very simple example for instance:

a1 Stamp stamp – R L

a2a3 Brush step back ] x 2 – R L

a Stamp out on R

4 5 Wait = missed beat = nothing here

a6a7 Shuffle ball change – starting with L foot

a Stamp across on L foot

8 Wait

Now you can see that this gives the combo space and dynamics. It also allows for a bit of drama and personality as the dancer may “look around sneakily on counts 4 5 ” – or interact with their tapping buddy on these two counts to bring the piece to life.

So whilst there may be no ” audible” use of these counts – they can certainly be used visually to great effect. And the sound of the rhythm in its entirety is also enhanced by the space and breathing room this pause gives the rhythm.

It really does exemplify the old saying that ” sometimes less is more”!

So next time you are in the class room and trying out a new combo – perhaps try a few missed beats for added effect.

They allow a few things to happen:

1. Space for the rhythm to breathe
2. Creation of tension
3. Adding of dynamics
4. Allows the tapper to connect with the rhythm and the pause to create some drama and personality in the combo – and interact with other tappers performing too. For example the tappers could be exchanging looks saying: ” this is fun ” or ” shall we keep going ?” or ” how clever are we ” or ” let’s try it again ” or ” lets get that faster now “……..

Like I said at the start – so much can be achieved with the beauty of a well placed pause.

So have fun and enjoy!