Tap Dance - Absolute Beginners Introduction to Rhythm Tap

1. Tap Dance - Absolute Beginners Introduction to Rhythm Tap: Hi, I've sent me and wheedle, have me teaching and performing rhythm tap in London, New York, and across the globe since 1993, when I was ten years old, I love tap dancing. It's been my passion, my profession, and if my way of life, I hope to introduce you to this great art form and take you the tap dancer on a musical journey. With this absolute beginners introduction, rhythm tapped out. We'll be breaking down rudiments. Looking at the fundamental elements and steps that make up the language of tab. We will be playing through exercises to help you develop these rudiments and doing the steps that support the beginnings of tap dance and its foundations. We will also examine subdivision. We'll look at some fun steps and short routines. This lesson pack also includes the shim sham routine developed by Leonard Read. Not a short introduction to improvisation. I'm super confident that by the end of these lessons, you will be able to confidently say you are a tap dancer. There's also a tough workout to dance along too. I basically put together something like five years of weekly losses and practice into one lesson. I hope you enjoy it. I hope it challenges you. I hope you are inspired to move forward with this amazing app that has been created and also keeps you rarely bit. Let's begin. 2. Module 1 - Introduction - Tap & Me: Hi, I'm Simeon wheedle and welcome to this complete introduction to absolute beginners tap. I've been performing, teaching and practicing rhythm tap for over 27 years. I worked in stump London on tour and Off-Broadway for 13 years. I worked for Michelle difference with dance dance and had three of my own tab companies. And I previously worked in musical theater on the show Chicago. It has been a pleasure to perform with world renowned jazz and funk musicians across the globe. And I've taught all over New York, London, and Europe. Any age group, any language, it doesn't matter. I want to teach you. I love teaching and watching my students grow and improve and also be challenged. I also hope I can depart my love for this great art form in these classes and guide you, the tap dancer through the musical journey of tap. I believe we all learn at our own rate. So please take your time. There's no rush here. Feel free to go back and watch these classes over and just be free from judgment here. I want to assert two golden rules. One is that you breathe and relax. And the other is that you just enjoy your class time here. It's okay to miss a tap. We all miss taps all the time when we're learning. It's a huge part of the learning curve. So don't beat yourself up about any little mistakes that might happen. It's totally natural. Just let it go and move on. Tap dancing also has so many valuable lessons within the lessons, it teaches us balance, it teaches us coordination, timing, musicality. It takes discipline and dedication, but it's also fun. Plus it's really, really good exercise. There's no need for a gym membership when you tapped downs regularly. Before we get tapping together, I will talk briefly about some essentials which will include your tap shoes, what to buy. Just a little bit of bite-size history and the beginner's mindset. So let's begin. 3. Module 1 - Tap History Bite Size: Tap is more or less about 100 years old and it's an oral tradition passed down through teaching and speaking. Tap is deeply rooted in jazz music and the grass roots of tap go back a little further to Africa or an island. And the combination of these two dance cultures brought together through the melting pot of America. This melting pot formed the origins of what we have today. They were the more flat-footed buffers like King rasters Brown, who had a flat-footed style and would tap on the street corner versus the Bill Robinson up on the toes. Copacetic style, which made him famous in vaudeville. Copacetic is just a term that was coined by Bill Robinson, or you might know him as Mr. budget angles. It just means everything is cool or everything is okay or Groovy. Then these two styles were kinda basically merged by the one and only Gian bubbles, who is widely considered to be the father of rhythm tap. After John bubbles, there was an explosion of amazing Jazz rhythm tap dancers. And there's some really great literature available on the history of rhythm tap, as well as fantastic footage. So I won't go too much further into it. But please check out the names I have attached to the file that is attached to this class. The main point here is that we are standing on the shoulders of giants. We couldn't do anything without these great rhythm tap dances that came before us. Everything we do we owe to them. 4. Module 1 - Tap Shoes & Equipment: So when deciding what shoes to buy, you tend to get what you pay for. But I would always recommend just trying them on seeing what sounds good to you and what's comfortable to wear. Most store purchase tap shoes are premade. With the taps already attached. You can buy something like this in most dance outlets. At the other end of the scale, you can order what I wear, which is a custom fit PC0 K36 tap shoe with a buildup on the front and taps added from dancing fare.com. There is everything else in between. It's always a personal choice. And I have to say that often learning at a cheap pair of shoes is actually healthy because when you fill the time is right to splash out on a more expensive pair of shoes, you will sound great. But because you have learned how to make the cheap pair sound good. First, basically any shoe that has two pieces of metal attached, one of the toe, one on the heel. You can do it. If you look at the tap shoe, there is a toe tap. And the heel tap. Now, these taps give us tone depending on how we hit the floor. The toe tap tends to give us a brighter, higher tone. And this is called the treble. While the heel tap tends to give us a deeper full of sound. And this is what's known as the base. We can change these sounds around a little later on with different steps. But for the most part of it, That's how these two sounds will tend to be. If you look really closely. There's also a soundboard sort of sandwiched in-between the toe and the tap, which matches the size of the tap. Now this is on most, if not all tap shoes and is just there to help the sound resonate. Then we have the tabs themselves. I lean towards a tele tone or in this case supersonic taps. But again, it's a personal preference. If you look, you will see some holes in each of the taps with some screws in them. These screws bind the tap to the shoe. There is also some very strong glue which helps the taps not to come loose. Now, some people prefer loose taps. I prefer mine tight. Don't try this yet. But if you turn the screws clockwise, you tighten the taps. And if you turn them anticlockwise, you loosen the taps, but watch out. Once you've adjusted the tightness or looseness of each tap, you will then be constantly adjusting that tap to what suits you. So I recommend just not touching or adjusting that in any way until the TAP has started to just naturally loosen, which will eventually will. Once again, I prefer the tighter sound because it just, it's just audibly cleaner and I like the deeper tone it gives out. The most tap shoes are made of leather. Sum or not. These particular shoes are made of patent leather, which is why they're so shiny. Actually find patent leather to last a little longer than other kinds of leather. And I prefer black, but these days, tap shoes come in all different colors and styles to these have a wing tip as the style, but it's all just a preference. The bottom line is, go with something that sounds good and something that's comfortable to wear. Having said that, don't be surprised, some new shoes are really stiff. There might be a little bit of discomfort there to begin with. After all, tap is hard work as well. With regards to fluorine, wood floor is ideal as it resonates the sound. It also helps if there is a cavity beneath that floor. It should ideally also be sprung, which means it has some give to it, a little bounce to protect your body from any high-impact. If you're on stage. You might also be miked. Ideally, this is a condenser mike or sometimes called a shotgun mic. And there is a nice mix between low, the low end of the base and the high-end, the treble. Now some dance flowing like Molly tends to give us just one or two sounds and very little in the way of tonality. So the job of the tap dancer becomes a little more difficult, one on a different floor surface. But at the end of the day, your sound starts with you. It is after all, you and the sounds you are creating that really matters here. 5. Module 1 - Awareness: So whenever you're practicing rhythm tapped downs, it helps to just suck in your stomach slightly, be a little bit lifted and just check in the mirror. If you have one that you're not holding any kind of weird tension anywhere, not lifting your shoulders or hunching over. It's always good to just protect your body and be mindful of where your body sits. 6. Module 1 - Weight Change: So it's worth just briefly talking about weight change. Move all of your weight over to the left leg. Pick up your right leg. Your left leg is now the weight-bearing leg and your right leg is now the non weight-bearing leg. But the leg down again shifted over to the right side or the right leg. Lift up the left leg. Now your right leg is the weight-bearing leg and your left leg That's up in the air, is the non weight-bearing leg. Put it down again. Come into the middle. We can now say that your weight is evenly distributed or it's centered. We can also talk about your weight being forwards. I'm going to get a little bit more of a side angle for you up on the toes and forwards. Can you see how my heels just lift off the ground? If you tip your weight forward enough, that will naturally happen. We can also talk about your weight being back in the heels. So later on when we start to do some paddle and roll stuff, you might need to put your weight further back and sit into the heels for this kind of stuff. 7. Module 1 - Jumps: It's also worth just briefly talking about the different kinds of jumps you can achieve. If you put all of your weight onto your left leg, pick up the right leg. We can jump from the left leg to the right leg. That's one. We can jump from the right leg, the left leg. That's two. We can jump from the left leg to both legs. We can jump from the right leg to both legs. How about both legs to the left leg? And both legs to the right leg. What about the left leg? So left to left. And then right leg hopping, right. So right. And of course, both legs to both legs. These are the kinds of different jumps you're going to encounter in tapped downs. 8. Module 1 - Tempo: Our tempo is the description of how fast the beat is repeating itself. With regards to time, you will see the letters BPM, which just Stanford beats per minute. So of course, 60 beats per minute synchronizes with the second hand on a clock. It's just useful as a reference point. So we know the speed of each exercise or each routine. You can download the MP3 metronome recordings attached to these lessons. And I believe there are a number of free metronome apps that you can find for your phone. 9. Module 1 - The Metronome: You'll hear a clicking sound as I demonstrate these classes, which is a metronome, serves us to keep good time and just know where we are in the music. You'll hear one-click with a higher tone, followed by three clicks with a lower tone. And that makes 1 bar of music. So these are quarter notes. And it's so helpful to practice with the metronome. It acts as our personal timing coach. And a good sense of timing is something we will really need to develop if we are going to become tap dances. 10. Module 1 - Beginners Mindset: See if you can just drop everything and fully commit to the practice. Never be afraid to simply begin again each day and even with each moment, I can't stress enough the power of regular practice. It fine-tunes your instrument. It sharpens your mind, as well as asserting a positive attitude into your daily life. If the top players in the NBA still practice basketball every day, then I'm pretty sure none of us are beyond it. If something is difficult to do, then well, that's kinda the point I'm making here. It's okay to fail at something, but it's not okay to give up. Remember, it's not about reaching a goal. It's about experiencing the practice and enjoying each moment, even the moments that didn't work. So allow yourself the freedom to flow through each exercise loosely and easily. This way your body and mind can simultaneously find the path of least resistance. When he practiced these videos. There'll be a demonstration from the back angle as if you were stood behind me in a dance studio. And also a front angle as if we were stood facing each other. The beats per minute will appear onscreen. And I will count you in alongside the sound of the metronome. The true purpose of these lessons is to equip you with the necessary tools to be fluent in the language of tap. So the one day soon, you will not only be able to speak, but you will also be able to pick and choose exactly which words you're using for that sentence. 11. Module 1 - Counting & Subdivision: For the purpose of these exercises, I'll be counting 1234. In the way a musician might count, it's okay to count to eight instead, if that helps you. Of course, the time will come when you won't even have to count at all. You'll just understand the rhythm. But in the meantime, counseling is a great way to teach ourselves where we are in the music. It acts as a kind of initial blueprint, which eventually becomes second nature to us. Something we use all the time in rhythm. Tap is subdivision. Subdivision is just a way of breaking up a chunk of time into a smaller chunk of time. Say for instance, we have a quarter note in four-four time or common time, 1234. Within that time at the same tempo, we can then play eight notes or eighth notes, 12,341.2 and 3.4. And then we could shift the subdivision up one more step and play what we call triplets. 12341 and 2.3 and 4.1 than to 21 to three and a full render. And then finally, 16th notes, 12,341.2 and 3.4 and 1.2, and a 3.4 and a 1.2 and the three and the 40. And it's just a way of describing how many notes are within 1 bar. Sub-division can also include making that chunk, in this case, a quarter note, larger, like a half note 123, or even a whole note, 1234. So starting with quarter notes and working through the 16th notes. Let's take that to the feet. Let's try using alternating Hales. You lift up the right tail and then drop it down. Then lift up the left heel and drop that down. So let's play 2 bar of quarter notes. So our heels at this point are going to match the click of the metronome 1, 234-123-4234. So now let's play 2 bar of eighth notes. And so there are two notes with each click of the metronome. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 and 2, and 3 and 4. And let's play 2 bar of triplets. There are three notes being played with each click of the metronome. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3 and 4 and 1, 2 and 3 and 4. And finally, 16th notes, where there are four notes for each click of the metronome. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, and 4. And now let's use these alternating heels to work through the four subdivisions we have learned, quarter notes, eighth note, triplets, and 601234. Now let's use the toe lift. With the toe lift, the heels stay on the ground. The right toe lifts up. And you drop it. The left toe lifts up and you drop that. Let's work through the same four subdivisions using toe lifts. 1234. 12. Module 1 - Rudiments Intro: The rudiments are just simply the most basic building block that everything comes from. So I'm going to demonstrate some of the most common rudiments. And then at the end of this section, we will play through them. I expect you to play along with me. So let's begin. 13. Module 1 - Shuffle: The shuffle is one of the most commonly used rudiments in the rhythm. Tap repertoire is just so essential that we hone the shuffle so that later on we can just have it at our disposal to any given moment. So in my world, a shuffle is a forward stroke with the TO followed by a backward stroke with the toe. Once again, forward stroke. Backward stroke. Just give you the side angle here. Forward stroke, backwards stroke. It's a bit like you're kicking a football. We can also shuffle with a turndown leg by turning out, I mean, going from this position to this position. Now remember I always turn out from the hip and never from the knees. Once again, shuffle forward stroke with a toe, backward stroke with the toe forward, backwards. We can also do a side shuffle, where the feet stay in a parallel position. And the shuffle happens out to the side. Once again, forward stroke. Backward stroke. You'll notice that this leg is bent. That just helps me reach the floor and not miss the floor. Let's go ahead and put the shuffle on the left foot, forward stroke with the toe, backward stroke. And turned out the slide shuffle. So bend the supporting leg. 14. Module 1 - Shuffle Drill: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 15. Module 1 - Shuffle Turned Out: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 16. Module 1 - Shuffle Side: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 17. Module 1 - Paddle: Much like the shuffle, the paddle is two notes being played on 1 ft and is interchangeable with the shuffle. But there is a subtle difference in the sound being created here. The paddle sits right next to the shuffle, like a set of twins, and the two rudiments compliment each other nicely. A paddle is a heel strike on the floor going forwards and a toe stroke going back. Foods with the heel, back with the toe. And the side angle, it looks like this. Forward stroke with the heel, backward stroke with the toe. Let's try turning that out. Let's go ahead and put the paddle on the left side as well. Well, what stroke with the heel? Backward stroke with the toe. And let's try turning the paddle out. 18. Module 1 - Paddle drill: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 19. Module 1 - Paddle Turned out: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 20. Module 1 - Roll: So next up, we're going to learn what's called a roll. It's difficult to stress how often we use roles in tap. It's one of the main essential rudiments that make the language of tap possible. You might hear it called something like a cramp role. And whatever you refer to it, that's okay. As long as we both know what we're doing here is right, left, right, left. And the sequence goes toe, toe. He'll heal. Okay, so it looks something like this. So it's important that once we go up on that toe, we don't drop the heel yet. Stay up on it. And let's look at the left side. The left side is going to go left, right, left, right. Once again, the sequence is toe, toe, heel, heel. Here we go. 21. Module 1 - Rolls Drill: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 22. Module 1 - Reverse Roll: Another kind of role I want to introduce to you is the reverse role. Instead of toe, toe he'll, he'll we actually have he'll heel, toe, toe. It looks like this. Let's try that on the left. 23. Module 1 - Reverse Roll Drill: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 24. Module 1 - Press Roll: So next up, much like the role, we have something called a press role. It's very, very similar. So let's not get these two confused. The Press roll looks like this. Right, left, left, right. But the actual sequence of steps is still toe, toe, heel, heel. But the rights and the left are very slightly different. Let's take a look. Let's look at that on the left side. You can see how that 1 ft is kind of sandwiched in-between. You have two notes on 1 ft. 25. Module 1 - Press Roll Drill: 12341234. 26. Module 1 - Riff: And tap dancing. We also have something called a riff. Now a riff looks like this. It's all on 1 ft. Toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe. And you can see I've kind of stepped onto it because a riff is a walking step. It was developed from walking. So just as you would if you were walking, stepping your right foot forward. Once again. Let's try that on the left side TO YOU. Once more on the left. So ideally we want to go right side, left side. Let's take a look. Riffs come from walking. It's a walking step and it's actually easier to do when the step moves you around the room. 27. Module 1 - Riff Drill: 12341234. 28. Module 1 - Stamp: Next up, we're going to look at a stamp. Stamp is when the toe and the heel come down at the same time, it's flat footed. So check it out. Nice and loud, right on the left side. So there's two kinds of stamps I want to share with you. Non-weight bearing stamp, which looks like this. There's no wait. That's how the foot was able to come back off the floor. This is the weight-bearing leg. Let's try that on the left side. Then there's the weight-bearing stamp. When you transfer your weight onto the stamp. And on the left side. Let's put together a very simple sequence with the non-weight bearing stamp and then the weight-bearing stamp. This is how it's going to look. Stamp step, step, step. And then we have the weight-bearing stamp, which is gonna be a stamp. Dig, check it out. Stamps are also extremely common in rhythm tap now because the toe and the heel are hitting the ground together at the same time. Stamps on naturally a little louder. So they give us a very natural accent. An accent is just a note or sound that is louder than the previous sound. 29. Module 1 - Stamps Drill: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 30. Module 1 - Play Through: So there's already a lot of information here. Let's take a step back and play through everything that we've learned so far. 31. Module 1 - Combination - Shuffle/4 Beat Roll/Stamp: We're going to go ahead and put some of these rudiments into the beginnings of our first steps. Let's begin. Okay, so just taking that information that we already have, we can already start to put together some combinations. So check it out. We're going to take the shuffle on the right leg, shot before big role on the right, right, left, right, left. And then we're going to finish with a stamp on the right. And the weight changes over to the right leg. So weight bearing stamp. Let's take a look at that on the left side. Shop for beat role. Right, then right, then stamp on the left. Let's just take a look at that one more time. Super slowly. 32. Module 1 - Combination Drill - Shuffle/4 Beat Roll/Stamp: 12341234. 33. Module 1 - Combination - Shuffle/Press Roll/Stamp: So next is exactly the same combination, but instead of the normal role, we're going to use the press role. So check it out. Show progress goal. And this time the stamp happens on the other leg is on the left foot and it's a non weight-bearing stamp. Let's do that again. It's on the right side. This non-weight bearing stamp is important because it sets us up for the left side. Press. Well, let's just look at the left side one more time. 34. Module 1 - Combination Drill - Shuffle/Press Roll/Stamp: 12341234. 35. Module 1 - Combination - Shuffles/4 Beat Riffs: Now we're going to string together a shuffle with a full beat riff. It looks like this. Shop for red. And on the left side. And then we're going to add one more riff on the right side. So stringing that together, we have. And this sets us up for repeating exactly the same sequence on the left side. 36. Module 1 - Combination Drill - Shuffles/4 Beat Riffs: 12341234. 37. Module 1 Complete - Well Done!: That's the end of the first module. And you're already tap dancing, so well done. I hope you're having a good time and remember to relax, breathe, and just learn at your own pace. 38. Module 2 - Furthering the Rudiments - Falap: So another super important rudiment in rhythm tap dancing is the flap. We have a forward stroke with the toe, much like the shuffle. And then we just slap the toe against the ground. It's very loose, it's very relaxed and there's very little interference with a full lap. So just on the right foot. Here we go. Let's try that a few more times. Well, we can also do is transfer or weight over to the right foot. Once we've finished the full app, it looks like this. Then that sets us up for the left side. So let's do a non weight-bearing for lap on the left side first. Let's do one where the weight transfers over. So this is the weight-bearing for lab. So what we're going for here is that the second note sounds louder than the first. So the one will be long. And it's kind of like a triplet feel are 1234. Lap, lap, lap, lap. I like how the word for lap sounds a lot like the rhythm that we're playing. That's super-important, helps you remember it. So let's do eight non-weight bearing flaps on the right leg. 234. Let's try the same thing on the left side, 1234. And now let's try alternating prolapse. So we go right, left, right, left for lab, for lab 1234. 39. Module 2 - Falap Drill: 1234, 1234, 1234, 1234. 40. Module 2 - Hop Step: So moving onto transitional steps which are super-important, I'm going to teach you one which is called a hop step. Let's start by lifting up the left leg. And we're going to hop on the right and we're going to land on the ball of the toe. Then we're going to step onto it. Oh, that's super awkward to do slowly. So a little bit faster. It looks like this. Hop step once more. Okay, Let's try the other side. We're going to lift up the right leg. We're going to hop on the left. Remember landing on the ball of the toe. So the heel is lifted. And then we step over onto the right. Once more on the left. Let's go hop step on the right. Hop step on the left. 234. 41. Module 2 - Hop Step Drill: 12341234. 42. Module 2 - Ball Change: Another super useful transitional step is what's called a ball change. And that just means you go up on the ball of your foot, like here, and then you change the weight over to the other foot. That's the change part of it or change. The weight change is really fluid here. It's going from the right side and then over to the left side. Chain. Right? Let's just try that on the left side. 43. Module 2 - Ball Change Drill: 12341234. 44. Module 2 - Hop Step Ball Change: We've got a string, those two transitional steps together. And what we're going to end up with is this hop step, ball change, hop on the left, step on the right. And then the bold change. And then we're ready to go on the other side. So hop on the right, step on the left, and then ball change right-left. Let's do that one more time. 1234. Let's bring those two together. 1234, step, ball change, step, change. 45. Module 2 - Hop Step Ball Change Drill: 12341234. 46. Module 2 - Riffle: So next up we have something called a referral. Referral is somewhere between a shuffle and a paddle and there's three sounds being made. It goes toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel. Let's just try that on the left side. Once again, you can play raffles straight in front of you, like in parallel. You could play them. Turned out, I usually end up playing somewhere in between those two places, like right on the diagonal. So that's a non weight-bearing step. There's no weight on it. But what we can do is transfer the riffle over to a weight-bearing step. So it's a fluid motion as we do the referral, how weight transfers over. And on the left side. It really feels different to the first version of that. So play around with it until you're very comfortable and it feels kind of like walking. Keep repeating. These repetition is everything here. And just getting used to the mechanics of toe, heel, toe, these steps will eventually sink into your muscle memory. Some point. You won't even have to think about them. 47. Module 2 - Riffle Drill: 1 234-123-4123. 412 341-234-1234. 48. Module 2 - Chugs: So next up, we have something called a chug. Chug is a beautiful sound that has a nice rich texture and it has a bit of a gliding involved. What happens is the heel raises up off the ground. The legs shoots forwards and the heel drops. You hear how that was different. So instead of just a regular, we actually have this sound. Chug. It's got a nice gliding, smooth shadow to it. I love the base element, but really bringing out the lower tones of the heel there. We can do a non weight-bearing chug and left side. Or we can chug with weight-bearing. There's one more chug I want to introduce you to, which is when both heels chug forwards and land at the same time, it's almost like you're kinda jumping but you don't leave the floor. So both toes stay in full contact with the floor. It looks like this. Let's check that out from the side angle. So sometimes in tap we have what's called a married sound. It's just when two sounds happen at the same time. Chugs give us a nice alternative to just regular heels. They add tone and this nice gliding sound across the floor. 49. Module 2 - Chug Drill: 1 234-123-4123. 412 341-234-1234. 51. Module 2 - Combination - Waltz Clog: Okay, I think we've learned quite a lot. I think it's worth putting what we already have into some combinations. I'm going to start by teaching you something called the waltz clog. This is really a nod to the descent of rhythm tap and how some of the Irish dancing was included into the core grassroots version of rhythm tab. We start with a flap on the right leg. It's a weight-bearing for lap. Did you notice that shuffle ball change with the left side? That's the first bit. Let's go back and just do that again. We're then going to repeat that on the left side from Shaw, full, full chain. And to finish off this phrase, we're going to add to four laps, one on the right, one on the left, and then the weight bearing for laps. Stringing that together. You might also see people execute this step with the shuffleboard change going across the body. It looks a little like this. Full change. Full change. Lap. 52. Module 2 - Combination Drill - Waltz Clog: 12341234. 53. Module 2 - Combination - Riffle/Shuffle Hop Step: So I'm going to try to push you a little bit here. We're going to use the riffle with non-weight bearing into a riffle that is weight-bearing. Repeat on the left, non-weight bearing. Weight bearing. From here. Shuffle, hop, step, repeat, shuffle, hops debt. And the rhythm of that is like while 234, delete, delete, delete the lab, shuffle, hops bit, shelf, full hop step. Let's take this super slowly and break it down. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1, 2, 3 4, 1 2, 3, 4. 54. Module 2 - Combination Drill Riffle/Shuffle Hop Step: 12341234. 55. Module 2 - Combination - Chugs: And here's just a little combination to help get our chugs moving along without chug. Chug. Chug. Chug left. Chuck together. Chuck together. And counting it out loud, it sounds like this. 123-41-2341, 2 341-234-1234. 56. Module 2 - Combination Drill - Chugs: 12341234. 57. Module 2 - Combination - Falap/Heel Heel/Spank Heel/Toe Heel: One of the first steps I learned growing up as a young tap dancer was this combination for lap with the right heel, heel, left, right spank heel, left, right toe, heel. Once again, left, right. It's a lot of information to digest. Let's just look at that on the right side. Spank you give the left side is shot exactly the same lap span. And the rhythm of this has a really nice triplet feel. Are 123401 at two and 3.4. 58. Module 2 - Combination Drill - Falap/Heel Heel/Spank Heel/Toe Heel: 12341234. 59. Module 2 Complete - Repetition is Key: That's Module two completed. Again, repetition is everything here. Just keep repeating and your body will learn how to do this. It's okay to struggle with something that's all part of your own learning curve. It's our job to be challenged by each new hurdle. And it's okay to feel like, Hey, it all went wrong. Remember, tomorrow is always another day. 60. Module 3 - Three Short Combinations - Introduction: So by now we are establishing a pretty solid repertoire. We're building a library of rhythm and a strong foundation in weight change. Let's keep moving forwards. 61. Module 3 - Combination - Shuffle Hop Falap: So taking the shuffle as we know it, forward stroke, backward stroke, we can swing the shuffle. So instead of sounding like this sharp full shell, shell, we can put a swing emphasis on what we're doing. Now. 1234 sharp, sharp pull, pull, pull. 1234 sharp boo, boo, boo, boo. Let's just take a look at that too. 34. And let's just try that on the other leg. 1234. So mixing some of those rudiments together, you can get something like this. It's a hop followed by a flap. We're going to hop on the left for lap on the right. It naturally alternates. So this leg comes up. We're going to hop on the right for lap on the left. Tried to bear in mind is the second part of the flap that we want to be the one. And that's where also where the accent is. Hop for lab, for lab. So let's take some of these elements and really start to mix them up. The swung shuffled with the right foot, followed by a hot for lap. Ready for the left side. Swung shuffle. Helpful lab. Putting those two together, nice and slow. 1234, sharp, sharp. Give me three swung shuffles. On the right side, 1234123. And then we hop for lap. And the left side, sharp, sharp 123. 62. Module 3 - Combination Drill - Shuffle Hop Falap: 12341234. 63. Module 3 - Combination - Crunch Falap: I also want to introduce you to something I call a crunch, which just looks like this. Toe, heel. Starting with the right toe. D dot, dot, and crunch. Crunch. Toe. He'll he'll just lift up the left leg and try it with the toes and the heels the other way round. So he'll heel, toe, heel, heel, d dot, dot. So now mixing the crunch with the flap, crunch on the right. For lap on the right. The weight change. Crunch or the left? Full lap on the left. Now give me three crunches in a row on the right side for lap. And then we repeat the whole thing on the left. Single. Single. Now three. Let's hear how that sounds. 12341234. 64. Module 3 - Combination Drill - Crunch Falap: 12341234. 65. Module 3 - Combination - Crunch Hop Falap: And finally, combining the crunch with the hop for lap, the right, hop for lap. Crunch on the left. Helpful app. 66. Module 3 - Combination Drill - Crunch Hop Falap: 12341234. 68. Module 3 Complete - Tonality: Hop for lap, has a real up on the toes feel and crunches and nice because you get to really sink that heel into the floor. So we are establishing different tones within a short space of time, which is what keeps it interesting to play and hopefully interesting to listen to. 69. Module 4 - Intro - Condos Brothers Single, Double, Triple & Quadruple digit: One of my favorite exercises was developed by a tap dancing called Steve condos. So the condos brothers are very, very famous. Look them up if you haven't already. I just can't recommend them enough to we're going to start with a dig heel, toe, heel. It looks like this, one of each. And on the left side. Let's just do that. Right side, left side, 1234. That's the single digit version. In other words, there's one of each. But what happens if we play two of each? It's going to look like this. Then of course we have three of H and it has a bit more of a triplet feel to it naturally because there's three. So 12 and 3.4, exactly the same step again, but with four of everything. 70. Module 4 - Condos Brothers Drill: 1234234 71. Module 4 - A Great Foundation: Frank, Nick, and Steve condos were a huge influence on rhythm tap. This exercise is a great basis to a foundation in their technique. We'll never above this. We never better than it. Because we can always play this combination with better timing, greater accuracy, and a preferable tone. It's also great because we are starting to integrate some subdivision into our repertoire. 72. Module 4 - Wing Preparation: Okay. Moving onto another rudiment. It's an outward scraped with the toe. So the heel lifts off the ground. We almost start to sickle the foot and we scrape the outside edge. It's a nice scraping sound. We can do an inward spank because banks can go in lots of different directions. And then we place it down. It gives us three sounds. Let's try the left foot. Scrape space. Let's go four on the right. Four on the left tried to bend your knees and as you scrape, straighten your legs. Straight. 73. Module 4 - Wing Preparation Drill: 12341234. 74. Module 4 - Wings & Repetition: Wings are a huge part of the rhythm tap repertoire. I encourage you to just keep repeating wings. Eventually they are jumping step. Really researched the condos brothers. They're famous for developing the wing and even creating 4.5 beat wings. 75. Module 4 - Combination - Add the Shuffle: Once again, we're going to take that concept and make it a little step. And guess what? We're going to utilize the shuffle once more. What we do is we go sharp. She'll dig big hail, hail. And then we're gonna do that on the left side. Let's take another look at that. 76. Module 4 - Combination Drill - Add the Shuffle: 1234 repeat 2341234, repeat 234. 77. Module 4 - Combination - Add the Paddle: So let's do that thing where we replaced the shuffle with a paddle. Remember a paddle is a heel stroke forwards and then a TO stroke back. 12341234. 78. Module 4 - Combination Drill - Add the Paddle: 1234 repeat 2341234, repeat 234. 79. Module 4 - Combination - Inverted Toe Heel: Another fantastic Steve conduct rudiment is to invert TO heels. So it will take the normal toe, heel. And then on the left repeat. And then we just flip that around or we invert it. It's like adverting is just like looking in the mirror. This step feels really awkward. It's a real inversion of where we used to keeping our weight. So let's go toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel. And then we invert heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe. 12341234. 80. Module 4 Combination Drill - Inverted Toe heel: 12341234. 81. Module 5 - Heels, Toes, Spanks, Wings: So here are four more essential rudiments that we just need to take a look at. We start with a heel step. We'll step heel step. We pick up our foot and put it all the way behind us to make the toe step. Then we're going to lift up this tow. The heel stays on the ground and we spank as bank is sometimes called a pickup, but whatever you call it, the same action. Okay. Let me do that again. The toe comes up and then it strikes the floor as we lift the leg up. Step onto it. Let's try the left side. We'll call that spank step. We start with an outward scrape. The toe, the heel lift up off the floor. We almost make this sickling action with our foot and we scrape the towards the side. That's a lovely sound, but you think, step onto it. Let's try with the left. Yeah, I love that sound. So we're going to call this wing step. Wing step. That whole sequence looks like this. 82. Module 5 - One Step Further: It always helps to really kind of relax those ankles, especially when we're doing the wing aspect. So let's take it one step further. And instead of just stepping, we can add a toe heel. 83. Module 5 - Heel, Toe, Spank, Wing - Drill: 12341234. 84. Module 5 - Heel Spank Toe Heel: The next short combination, which we're going to integrate the spank and the paddle. Heel forward, spank backwards. Toe, heel. Let's try on the left side. Heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe. 85. Module 5 - Heel Spank Toe Heel Drill: 1234 repeat 2341234, repeat 234. 87. Module 5 Completed - Four Notes & The Value of Good Time Keeping: The heels spank toe, heel is a great preparation. Paddle and roll, which is coming next. You got to repeat this 1,000 times. And you have to remember not to speed up. A very great tap dancer called Ted levy used to say, it's not a race to finish first. It's a race to finish on time. Well, that means is we don't add value to something by speeding up. We add value by having good time. So I like to think about it like this. For notes played well, a more valuable than 1,000 played badly. Let's move on to paddle and roll. 88. Module 6 - Introducing Paddle & Roll: Paddle and roll is mainly utilizing the paddle, as we have previously seen with the toe heel aspect added. So famous for paddle and role was Lon Chaney, who I highly recommend. Let's examine that. 89. Module 6 - Paddle & Roll - Single, Double, Triple: So I'm going to mix up the order of a step a little bit here. Try to follow me. We're going to start with the left this time, okay, So left foot beginning, we don't always have to start with our right foot. It's so tempting because if you're like me, I'm right handed. My right hand is the most dominant hand. I do all my tasks with that. And so it's very natural for me to start with the right foot, but it's cool to play around starting with the left every now and then. So let's go ahead. Heel on the left. He'll dig with the bright spank toe. It's very similar to the previous step. We did accept it started in a different place. Now we drop the right heel. For argument's sake. We could also word it like this. Heel, pad step, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, step. So this is the beginnings of Padlet role. And I would like to add to that, if this is a single step, step, a double could look like this. He'll go step. And let's try that on the other side. Heel, toe, heel, toe, step. Now we dropped the right heel, door step. So now we have singles and doubles. Let's try to string those two together. Let's do four singles. And let's go double, double, single, nice and slow. 1234. Add one more single on the end of that, and check out where we are. This has set us up to repeat that phrase on the other side. So let's go ahead for singles. Doubles, doubles, single 1234. How did you get along? It's a lot of singles and doubles. Go back and watch this again if you didn't catch it the first time, I'm going to move along and teach you one more variation, which is the triple. Loved the left step. That's all there is to it. There's no more new information. We're just adding on top of the same of what we already know. Other side, heel step. And to finish this combination, I want you to give me six singles in a row. 3456, right at the end, drop the heel. Stamp, right, stamp left. Let's take a moment to say the whole exercise. For singles. Double, double, single. For singles, double, double, single, triple, triple, triple. Triple. And then we have six singles finishing with a halo on the left stamp, right. Stamp left. Okay, Nice and slow together. Good luck to you. 12341234. 90. Module 6 - Paddle & Roll Drill: 12341234. 92. Module 6 - Combination - Add the Shuffle : Okay, so the next combination I want to teach you is integrating the shuffle into our Padlet role. He'll step, he'll he'll go pale. Sharp heel step. That sets us up for the other side. Heel step. He'll do. Let's bring both of those together. 1234. Wow, 234. 93. Module 6 Combination Drill - Add the Shuffle: 12341234. 94. Module 6 - Combination - Add the Riff: So now let's incorporate the four beat riff in with our paddle and roll. He'll, he'll step. You. Hail for the riff. From the weight change. We then have to drop the heel on the right leg. It's kinda awkward. Hey, step, heel, step, heel, toe, heel on to three. Once again, if we wanted to continue, we could drop the heel on the left. So our weight change really is useful here. We've got non weight-bearing stuff and then weight-bearing stump. Try to bear that in mind, but it's always a fluid thing. And at the end of the day, it's figuring out how your body does it. Everybody has got slightly different shape or different sized feet and different leverage. So really just repeat this guy's over and over again and you will get it to 34234. 95. Module 6 - Combination Drill - Add the Riff: 12341234. 96. Module 6 Complete - Persistence & Repetition: Okay. That's a lot to take in. But I also think you can handle it. So hanging there, it's a lot of heels and toes. So feel free to go back and just watch it over if need be. 97. Module 7 - Extended Roll: Let's take another look at the role. And we're going to add some beats before and after. So let's take the four big role and add a stamp at the end of it, right? And it's gonna be a weight-bearing stamp on the left side, right, left, right. Let's just try that. 1234. We're going to add one more notes in right before the role begins. And it almost ends up being like a full lap, which affords brush at the toe. Right, left, right stack. Now affords brush with the left toe, 12341234. So by just adding those two things, we have something that is now closer to a step, all of its own. 98. Module 7 - Extended Roll Drill: 12341234. 99. Module 7 - Extended Press Roll: Exactly the same thing, but we're going to utilize the press role and the non-weight bearing stamp press role staff. That sets us up for the left leg press role. So you can see how the full lap and the beginning of the role sort of integrate and become the same thing. We go right side, left side, 1234. 100. Module 7 - Extended Press Roll Drill: 12341234. 102. Module 8 - Establish Swing & Syncopation: Timesteps are a great way to establish a swing. Feel. As soon as we can swing. We have the beginnings of some syncopation, some complex rhythm. 103. Module 8 - Time Step Single: So the single timestep preempts the one with a left-right, flat-footed. Okay. Left, right, 123. Okay. Let's hear that again. One and a 2.3 and up four. Sprank heal. As to the spank heel. 23.1 is on that left heel. Spring back on the right for lap step. That goes full app on the left. Step on the right, stamp on the left, spank, hail spring back on the left for lap step. So now we've got the full right side and the left side. 123. Step, stamp, spank. You. Step four. Step, back, heel, step, repeat, step, step. Step. Step four, lab. 104. Module 8 - Time Step Double: The double timestep, it's exactly the same as the single, except we have a flap in the mix there. So step, stamp, spank, hail, far left. There's like two for laps in a row if you like. Stamp, spank, heel. Last 1.2 and 3.1. Step back, heel, step back. Here. 105. Module 8 - Time Step Triple: And the triple timestep just integrates the shuffle. It looks like this. Step, back, heel, sharp, ball step. Let's do that again. Step down Spring Hill, Shaw poles. And on the left side, steps that spank healed sharp step for lab. 106. Module 8 - Time Step Single, Double, Triple: Let's play through all three very slowly. 123. 107. Module 8 - Time Step Single, Double, Triple Drill: 1231234 108. Module 8 - Play Through: One is 3123. 109. Module 9 - Flam - Two Notes Played Closely: The term flam comes from drumming rudiments and is used to describe two notes that are very, very close to one another. They don't happen at the same time, but they are about as close as it gets. 110. Module 9 - Flam Step: This is a great time to introduce you to the flam. The flam is like two sounds. The toe and the heel that are very close together. We're going to use the outside of the shoe. So I kinda turn my leg out. This is very loose and I just kinda hit the floor like this. There's very little interference going on with me. I've got a very little to do with the sound. I just kind of hit it there. Let's try the left side. So once again, turning out. And it kinda goes to heal. Very, very close. The sound is almost together, but it's not together. It's not a stamp, it's a flam. Another way we can flam is the inside edge of the shoe. So we're looking at here, we shoot that leg out to the side. And it's just like that. Yeah. And the left side. Flam. Let's try this. Right flam step, left flam step. And then we use the other side, right flam step, left flam step 1234. 111. Module 9 - Flam Toe Heel: Once again, we can replace the step with a toe, heel, flat. 112. Module 9 - Flams Drill: 12341234. 114. Module 9 - Sound & Tone: Flashcards are a great way to mix up your tap dancing and throw in a different sound. The outside edge of the shoe has a nice deep tone. And that produces a certain feeling both for you and the observer. I'm talking about nonverbal communication, a mutual understanding that just cannot be written down. 115. Module 10 - Introducing The Shim Sham & Leonard Reed: We have enough material and cool foundation to learn our first routine. And I believe one of the finest and best routines to learn first is the Shame, Shame. Shame, Shame was a series of steps created by Leonard Read and has probably been slightly changed over the course of time, which is very natural. There are a few versions of this routine, but I'm going to teach you the one I learned from my tap elders. You might see variations with swing dancers who have a more Frankie Manning approach to some of the steps and timing. So don't take anything as gospel here, but do realize it's just a version of this routine that will help you along the way to becoming a better tap down. So the shim sham can be split into four sections to help us remember. It uses the structures of three steps and a break, which we will talk about as we get learning. I would also like to take this opportunity to once again remind ourselves how humbling it is that we are standing on the shoulders of giants. The amazing tap dancers who came before us and develop this great art form. Anything I could do would just not be possible, were it not for the legacy of so many amazing tap dancers who contributed to this art form. Having recognized that, let's begin the shim sham. 116. Module 10 - Shim Sham - Stamp Pickup Step & Break: The shim sham starts with a stamp spank step. We preempt the 14.1. Okay, stamps bank's debt. Just repeats on the left. Then we have stamps, banks steps, step, stamped bank's debt. Just that. Stamp, spank, step, step, step, step, step, step, stamp, spank. Repeat on the left. Once more on the right side. Then we have what's called a break. Break is just that a change in the rhythmic or melodic structure of the music. Here's the break we're going to learn. Step forwards on the right, it's a flat foot. Then we shoot the left leg behind us and create a flam. And that's where the one is. And we're going to step back on the left leg, step, hop, step, step. And you can see if my legs kind of hop over each other out together. We're going to slide up and click our heels together. Let's look at that again. Just the break. Step, step, step, hop, step out. So it's got a nice solid clap. None of this wet, loose, fishy Manson's get a real nice solid clap. Okay, that's the first section of the chimps yet. Putting that together, stamp, step, step, step, step, step, step. Let's look at that again. That's the first section of the sham, sham. 117. Module 10 - Shim Sham - Push Step: Second section of the shame sham, we have a crossover step, step, step, step, step, brush, hop, step, step. That brush is just a kind of flat-footed, almost like a stamp, almost like a non-weight bearing stamp, but it shoots forwards. That's the way I play that. Brush. Down. Step, step, step, step, step, step. Repeat on the left. Repeat on the right. Then we double up with the step, brush, hop, step, step. That's the end of this section. That's how I think about it. We finished on the left leg. Let's go back and take a look at it. Crossover section, step, step, step. And that's basically the end of the second section. The next section dovetails into this one. So just as a heads up. 118. Module 10 - Shim Sham - Stamp Pickup Step & Push Step: Let's put the first section and a second section together because it's quite a lot of information. 1212341, wow, 2341. 119. Module 10 - Shim Sham - Tac Annie: Okay, welcome to the third section. From here we are in this position. The left foot is in front, right foot is behind. We've got stamps, stamp, right-left. Nice and loud. Spank step. Stamps bank's debt. Repeat. Then we hit that first stamp. Stamp. Thanks. Sam. Thanks that spank step. Let's just get to here. It's almost like we repeat that step three times. Once again, three steps in the break. And then we go into the same break that we had to begin with. Step, step, step, step out. There's no clap here. Super tempting to clap. Clap there. 120. Module 10 - Shim Sham - Final Step: The fourth and final section is a drop. Shuffled will change. We drop on the right foot. Nice and low here I can almost touch the ground. Dropped shuffleboard change, left, Shaw change. It's nice that there's almost nothing new to you. Now. Drop shadow for change. We did that twice. Then we have a break. Repeat. Let's just do that one more time. The final section, we anticipate the one we like and one big drop will change, will change, break. 121. Module 10 - The Shim Sham - Feel & Transitions: I like my shims sham to have a swing feel. The 12342234. You could play it straight. You could play it like this. 1234. The preference for me to swing that and really feel the kind of syncopation in the rhythm. Do-do, do-do, do-do, do-do. So try to have that swing feel like jazz feel as we're playing through the shims here. So let's just play the shame sham from start to finish. Really try to just block it through even if it's super clunky and you miss a bunch of things, is to really awkward moments where I'm going to pause. There's a couple of transitions where the weight change gets super awkward. I'm going to pause and just freeze frame those particular moments to help us get through this one. You know what to do. Freeze-frame. This is the awkward transition. Hold it. This is the other one. The weight has to come off with this book. Do the break. 122. Module 10 - Shim Sham Drill: 123123. 123. Module 10 - Play Through: 123123. 124. Module 10 Complete - Well Done!: Congratulations on making it this far and learning the shim sham. At this point, you can say for certain, you are a tap tone, so it's a great routine and don't be worried about the different interpretations of this that you might see. It's all valid and all part of the growth and the direction of the art form. 125. Module 11 - Rhythm Turns for Any Situation: So we're going to examine rhythm turns and the fundamental footwork that makes that turn happen. I love rhythm turns. They're super useful and if you are ever stuck for a step, you can always use these in any situation. They always work. 126. Module 11 - Rhythm Turn Preparation: So let's go ahead and take a look at rhythm turns resolve. The way we're going to learn this is by not turning because we just need to get the footwork down first before we actually start to turn around. So he'll kill. You could almost think about it as a crunch. Remember the crunch? And then just adding two more toes onto the crunch. Let's pick up the left foot and try it on the left side. Toe, heel, toe, heel, toe. 234234. Okay. Let's take a second to get it's worth doing four on the right. Taken a breath. And four on the left. 23 423-423-4234. Let's go on the left side, 2 343-423-4234. 127. Module 11 - Rhythm Turn Prep Drill: 12341234. 128. Module 11 - Rhythm Turn: So the next step obviously is to turn that on the right side. We can lift up the right leg and punch it all the way back here. We haven't turned yet. Tempting to want to go with it. Don't stay facing front. It's as far back as about as far left as I can go. I'm not particularly flexible. But hey, this is going to help you get around. That's the toe, That's the first note. Toe. Heel, toe, heel. Toe. That lifting up of the leg and placing it back as far as it'll go helps you turn. We start getting into the territory of doing this. We're not gonna make it round. Okay. So yeah, really lift that up. Toe, heel, toe again. Toe, heel, toe, heel, toe. Again. So he'll he'll last time so he'll heal. As this speeds up. It starts to get a little dizzy. Right. So it helps to kind of spot by spot. I mean, just leave your head facing front heel and then whip it round right at the last second. If you've got lots of turns strung together, this stops you from being really dizzy. Let's give the left side a shot. Okay. Lifting up the left foot. Remember all the way back and across. So pale. Pale. So did you make it round? Hopefully you're facing front again at the end of the rhythm turn. So he'll heal. So again, he'll heal. So again, he'll heal. 129. Module 11 - Rhythm Turn Drill: 12341234. 130. Module 11 - Rhythm Turn with Shuffle: Once again, adding a shuffle to this, we're going to shuffle across this time, forward stroke with the toe, backward stroke. And look where we are. We're in exactly the right position to execute a rhythm turn. It's convenient. So he'll heel, toe, toe again, shaw toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel. Again. Schar School. He'll he'll try them on the left side. Forward stroke. Backward stroke setting us up for the turn. Pale. Pale. Yep, give it another shot. Sharp. So he'll he'll once more. Sharp, cool. Pale, pale. 131. Module 11 - Rhythm Turn with Shuffle Drill: 12341234. 132. Module 12 - Pullbacks & Perseverance: So we are really pushing ourselves in the next class. We're going to look at one of the most difficult things to learn as a new tap dancer. I'm talking about pullbacks. There really is no way of dodging this element of tap dancing. And I'm pretty sure it's just hard work, perseverance and sweat that makes this eventually happen. Don't worry if you miss a tap here. It's very normal to miss taps when you're learning this. Just let it go and trust that it will happen with time and repetition. Your body will figure out how to do this if you just keep repeating. 133. Module 12 - Pullback Preparation: So this is a pullback preparation. We're going to start on our right leg. We're going to do a spank or pickup, whichever one you'd like to call it. And we're going to change over to the left leg, is going to look like this. Getting that tapping, that spank tapping is super awkward, so don't worry if you miss it. You're going to miss it 100 times before you get one. So really it's no different to a spank, except we've got to jump before we execute it. And we're jumping to take the weight off of this foot that we can execute. What becomes a non-weight bearing sound. It's a transparency of weight. And give it a shot on the left side. Once again, you've really gotta jump, jump to high. You're going to miss the ground though. Can't make any sounds. So it's a little bit like almost lifting that toe up at the last second. Helps me just get a little bit of extra leverage to get that sound. And it's all about executing that sound, okay? 134. Module 12 - Pullback Prep Drill: 12 123-412-1234. 135. Module 12 - Pullback Demonstration: So the next stage is to spank with the right pickup change left to right, and then place the left leg down. Let's do that again. Spank. One small bear with me here, guys, I know it's tricky. Let's try the left side. Once more, left side. Now I'm breaking this into different pieces because it's a really awkward thing. Once you get that spank change down, you can make it one fluid motion and it looks like this spanked bank, right, left. And those two Spanx now kinda happen in the air. So it's a much bigger jump and it feels like one fluid motion rather than dissecting like that. It's kinda like a robot, right? What we need to do is jump and make it one fluid motion. Just give it a shot. Even if you miss those pickup taps, just give it a shot. Okay. On the left side. Good luck. Again if you miss the taps, don't worry, that's really normal. We all miss those taps when we first start to do these. And just getting that basic step down is the fundamental building block for developing a pull back. When you get fluid with pullbacks, will eventually just come to very, very naturally like so. Actually the faster ones, believe it or not, a much easier than the slow ones. Why? Because we don't need as much air time. We can do a much smaller jump and execute the sounds very quickly. So much less effort is needed for the faster ones. So don't worry, just keep repeating that slow one. And if you have to go back and do it 100 times, well, that's kind of the deal. 136. Module 12 - Drop Shuffle Spank Change Toe: Okay, So next up, staying in the air, drop on the right, shuffle on the left, spank change, just as we did in the previous exercise. And we're going to add a TO. Let me show you. Drop on the right side shuffle, spank change TO. And the rhythm of that is that Degas do back, drop, shaft ball change TO, Let's just try that on the left side. Drop on the left side, shuffle on the right. Spank change TO San Diego, do back. Once again. So much harder to do it slowly, but doing it slowly as really good. Toughest part is getting that spanking there. Don't be surprised if this starts to happen. Okay. It's really easy to miss that tap. Don't worry about it. I guarantee with repetition and time that tap will start to come out. 137. Module 12 - Drop Shuffle Spank Change Toe Drill: 12 123-412-1234. 138. Module 12 - Jumping Steps & Thoughts: How was that for you? I really hope it wasn't too disheartening. I remember missing this over and over again for a really long time before it kicked in. But eventually your body does work it out. And you might get one out of ten, and then next week it's two out of ten and so on and so forth. This seems awkward now, but at some point, it will be one of the most easy and natural things for you. 139. Module 13 - Grooving & Backbeats: Holding good time feel is one of the most important elements in tap. If you have a good time, you can hold a groove. A groove is just any pattern that repeats itself. And the idea is to move people to get them nodding their heads to the music being played by you, the tap dancer. You are after all, a sort of hybrid musician as well as dancer. And a backbeat groove is any beat that, that's where it's accents are on 2.4 of the ball. So let's take a look at a backbeat. 140. Module 13 - Backbeat: So most music is in full for, are common time. At least most music that I'm familiar with. And one of the best ways to express a groove is to put the accent on the two and the four of each bar. This is commonly referred to as a backbeat. I love listening to back beats. Backbeat is really drive the music forward and they help us distinguish where the music is. It's where a snare drum might be playing. The snare drum is like the high-end. So 1234123 and add to give you some of my terrible singing. But a little bit of singing is actually helpful here, just if you sing it in your head. So what we're gonna do is place the two on the right foot. We're going to lift the leg up and we're going to slap it down on the toe. Nice and loud, nice and heavy, nice and fun. On the four, we're going to do the same on the left. So that sounds like this. If I count it and play it, 2341313. Can you tell that I love to groove? So this is really my passion here. Let's add to that. We've got an ornament that by ornamented, I just mean add some little ornaments. Let's put the one on the left heel, two, and then the three on the right heel. Bone. Bone. Got Diego. Can you hear how that has kind of a song to it? Yeah. A bad singing once again for me, I apologize. But whatever helps you feel the groove here. Let's add one more heel on the tube and it's on the right heel. 123.1 and a 2.3 and a 11234. We have, hey, hey, hey. 141. Module 12 - Backbeat Drill: 12341234. 142. Module 13 - Backbeat Play Through: Dad. Dad, dad. 143. Module 13 - Grooving & Making Music: Grouping is not necessarily about a complicated step. It's more about playing great music, having good time feel, and getting the audience to nod their head and understand what you're playing. 144. Module 14 - learning Steps & Having Fun: So far we have been through a lot of technical work. And actually most of the joy of learning tap is just learning some great steps so that we can string those together and have some fun. So here're some fun steps for you to take away and practice in your own time. 145. Module 14 - Hines-like Step: Okay, Let's get into some fun steps. I'm going to start by teaching you something that reminds me of Gregory Hines. This is something that he might do or something very similar to him. It's Hinds ask, let's say that it's got a triplet feel that data, that data do but that day to do bad, daddy don't do a 4.1 and a 2.3 and so on and so forth. Shuffled with the right foot, toe, heel, dig, dig. On. The left is where the one is. It's also where our accent is. That data do pop. Nice and slow. Let's slow it down. Sharp, fall. He'll repeat on the left sharp, whole right side again. Take pale, pale, big pill for digs there. One. Remember is a triplet feel. Don't get locked into anything else. Let me try and dance it and sing it. One and 2.3 and show him ****, ****, ****, **** **** Hale, 4.1, 2.3, a four and R1 and R2 and a three, a 4.1 on the left side for 123. Okay, let's try the right side than the left side. 1234. Let's double up with the toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe. And then back to the first phrase. Putting all of that together nice and slowly. 123. 146. Module 14 - Drill - Hines-like Step: 12 123-412-1234. 147. Module 14 - Hines-like Step - Play Through: 1 212-341-2123. 148. Module 14 - Toe Heel: This is a little combination of my own. So he'll with the right heel, with a left heel. Four beat role stamp, stamp. Let's just get to there. 234123. Again. 234. Hey, we're gonna do to crunches with the right shuffled hill, hill to toes. Helpful app. Let me show you that again. It's kind of a lot of information from the top toe, heel, toe, heel, roll, stamp, stamp and a crunch. Crunch, shuffled hill heel, toe. The lab from the crunch section. Just that again. And crunch, crunch. Shell, full, pale, pale overlap. On the right side. Here we go. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stamp, stamp. And the crunch, crunch. Bill. Saying it's way harder than doing it. Let's just try to do 1234. You realize, I've got to break this down on the left side. We can't just be uneven like that. We have to do everything on the left side too. So here we go. Heel For row, stamp. Let's just get to there on the left. 234. Crunch, crunch, shuffle. He'll heel. Toe. Top for lab. Yes. From the crunches on the left. All the way on the left side. 234. Let's try to get through one, even if it goes wrong super slowly, right-side, then left side, toe, heel, toe, heel 1234. 149. Module 14 - Drill - Toe Heel: 12 123-412-1234. 151. Module 14 - Turning Step: Okay, next step utilizing that rhythm term that we learned on the right side, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, toe. Repeat, repeat. Clap, and we're going to shuffle on the right. So he'll he'll then we pick up the left foot to go left. I slowed down, just do the right side. 1234. So after that third time round, you got ready to go straight in with a clap and the shuffle like this. Let's give the left side a shot. So he'll he'll repeat. So he'll heal. Repeat again. So he'll heel to toe Schar School. So he'll feel super slow. One on the left side, 234. Let's try that. Right side, left side. 23. Slowly. Yeah. 152. Module 14 - Drill - Turning Step: 12 123-412-1234. 154. Module 14 - Shuffle Toe Heel Heel...: So next up is a step I actually saw a chance tailored two years back, starts with a shuffle. So he'll heal or a crunch if you like. Just that sharp. He'll he'll spank. So he'll he'll then I'll wait. Transpose over onto the right leg. Let's try that again. 234 spike, spike. And the left side, sharp spike, spike, spike. The way I would count this is 16th notes, 1.2 and a 3.4. There's not a single note missing. Once again, you might accidentally miss a tap. Don't worry, just kinda smooth over tried to stay in time. Slowly. 234. 155. Module 14 - Drill - Shuffle Toe Heel Heel...: 3434. 157. Module 14 - Train Step/Hoofers Time Step: So next up is a step I like to call the train step. You got a preemptive heal before you stamp. Slight that heals not even there. It's like a ghost note. Okay. It's almost not there. And if you miss it, It's like no sweat. Okay. Oh, bomb spank step. Just get to their 1.2 and 3.4 and stamps bank step brush. I use a brush like a flat footed kick forwards, almost like a stamp. That little preemptive hail is there again. 01, sprank step, Stamp, Bank step. And that's the right side and the left side. So it's much easier for me to show you this than say it. That's for sure. Oh, let's just do that really slowly. Stamp Spanx, step, stamps bank, rubber stamp, stamp, bank. That rough. He'll stamp. He'll stamp. It's got that nice swing syncopation feel to it. Okay. Banks that stamp, brush, stamp. Let's get to there. And the break, I bought a break is changing the rhythmic or melodic structure in the music. Pig. He'll, he'll, he'll, he'll, he'll Hill brush. And those are just playing triplets all the way through. And 123-12-3123 brush. Now we're ready to start. Again. He'll stamp, stamps back. Step, rush. He'll stamp brush. 158. Module 14 - Drill - Train Step/Hoofers Time Step: 12 123-412-1234. 160. Module 14 - Remember the Source, Change the Step: Well done for getting that. There is some vital information in these steps. So take away and repeat 100 times and get those really locked into your brain and your muscle memory. Also don't be afraid to change something and make it your own step. A huge part of the growth of the art form without forgetting our roots, is changing something to kind of coin it as if it were your own. 161. Module 15 - Improvisation - Improvography: We're going to take a look at some basic Improvisation. Don't get scared. You already have the basics to form. An improvisation is just rearranging the steps we already know into subdivisions. Your body actually knows subconsciously what to do, even if you don't think it does. Gregory Hines describes it as improv biography. And he would say, it's like I hear the combination in my head and express it through my feet. That's all it is. The simpler we can keep this the better. Once again, for notes played well, more valuable than 1,000 played badly. 162. Module 15 - Improv 2bars 60bpm: So we're gonna do some really basic Improvisation. Don't get scared. I'm going to play for 2 bar with a metronome. And then there's gonna be some silence we're expecting you to play. Now, all we're doing here is using subdivision and just toes and hails. Okay, so don't go any further than toes and heels. I'll count you in. I'm going to start playing for 2 bar, and then it'll be your turn. Ready. Here we go. Good luck. 1234. Excellent. Well done. It doesn't matter if you hit a wall where you found it really difficult and you found yourself tensing up. Just repeat this and you will get better. 163. Module 15 - Improv 2bars 80bpm: So same thing again. 2 bar, I'll go to bars you go. But this time, 80 beats per minute, so it's a little bit faster, there's much less time to think. So really, we won't be getting in our own way. That's what's really happening here. So it's a good thing. Let me count you in 12. It starts with me. I have. 164. Module 15 - Improv 2bars 60bpm Add Rudiments: So next up, 60 beats per minute, again, 2 bar, I'll go to bars you go. But we're going to add a shuffle or a paddle. Any way you like. I don't care where. Just mix in a shuffle and a paddle. So I'm going first. Here we go, 1234. 165. Module 15 - Improvisation 2bars 80bpm add rudiments: So the same thing again, 80 beats per minute and he toes and heels you like throwing some shuffles, grow in some petals. Now let's add one more element. Can you guess what it's going to be? It's a role throwing a role. I know it's just Tourism heals anyway, but it's good to think about those toes and heels in different contexts. Okay, I'm gonna go first, then you 1234. Okay, so well done. We really started to push the boundaries of how far we can go there. Don't worry, it's going to feel bad and weird and awkward and clunky to start off with. Just keep it simple, stay in time and you can't go wrong. So it's all about repetition here. You will improve, I promise. 166. Module 15 - Well Done - 'Our best steps are mistakes': A massive well done. It seems so scary when you first start. But I guarantee if you repeat these exchanges, you will improve and it will get easier. If you hit a wall, nothing happened and you froze up. Don't worry. It's very normal because we are entering uncharted territory. It's okay to mess up. In fact, often failure is our biggest teacher. Brilliant tap dancer called Jimmy slide, used to say, our best steps. Mistakes. 167. Module 16 - Endings - A Musical Full Stop: Endings are a musical full stop at the end of any given step or routine. Here are three of my favorite endings which you will hear over and over if you like, listening to jazz and particularly swing. 168. Module 16 - Ending - Triplets: Okay, so the first ending I want to teach you is nice and simple. It's triplets, it feels good, it always works. 1.2 and a 34. That's all you need to know. It's straightforward. It's simple. It's easy to get right, left, right, left, right, left, right together. And we just stamping all the way. 1234. Nice and loud, right? Let's do that again. 1234. Always feels good. Always a winner. Everybody knows where the ending is. It's really straightforward. 169. Module 16 - Drill - Ending Triplets: 121234. 170. Module 16 - Ending - Shave & Haircut: So the next thing I want to teach you is called a shave and a haircut. Not quite sure why it's called that. Here we go. My version of the shaven, a haircut is I stamped with both feet. I pull back on the right. So it's gonna go toe, toe, toe, toe, right, left, right, left. Okay, let's just do that. Drop on the right. Then I have a pendulum. He'll click. I'm just replacing one leg with the other one. I'm actually hoping from the right to the left, but at one replaces the other. Like so. Okay, let's do that again. Hopefully the heels click when you do that as well. And then we drop that. Okay. Click Stat stamp. And so this is a shave and a hair cut slowly as I can demonstrate it. Boom, boom, boom. Laid out. So of course, it's very dated step, but I've seen more routines. And with this particular step than any other step, It's worth taking note of and learning. So really work that pullback. Try to speed it up for this. But think if you don't do that, don't do. 171. Module 16 - Drill - Ending - Shave & A Haircut: 121234. 172. Module 16 - Ending - Swing Time: The final ending, I want to teach you a nickname. Swing time. It sounds a bit like this at the end of a lot of swing tracks. Back. Don't, don't, don't go to do that. Okay, I love that ending. And I once again, apologies for the terrible singing. Crunch on the right. Yeah. So he'll heel slap on the right. It's like three slaps in a row. 1234. The rhythm of that is important. You could do that 1234. And then we've just got he'll, he'll he'll he'll chuck together. Okay. That goes right, left, right, left, shoved together. It's a nice big old slide forwards. Yeah, feels good. Sounds good. 2341, small, 234. 173. Module 16 - Drill - Swing Time: 121234. 174. Module 16 - Endings & Rhythmic Resolve: Being clear with endings is super-important. And these suggested endings just seemed to make sense to us because they rhythmically resolve. And it's clear that the performance or the piece of music has finished. 175. Module 17 - Tap Workout - Tap Along: This is a play along. One of the quickest ways to improve is to tap along to a workout. It just gives us the time to enjoy our craft and learn. Without having to concentrate. Too hard. We're going to do one of the most effective ways of improving here by just logging time, the precious time it takes to improve and hopefully get a nice workout while we're at it. So relax, breathe, and enjoy your tap workout. 179. Module 17 - Tap Workout - Rolls, Toes & Heels: Okay. Okay. 180. Module 17 - Tap Workout - Paddle & Roll: Boo, boo. 183. Course Complete - Well Done & Afterthought: Well, thank you so much for joining me on this course. It has been such a pleasure to create and to teach it. I hope it helps you move forwards from beginner into the realm of improvement. I also hope you had some fun along the way. I encourage you to go ahead and listen to as much music as you can. Be moved by the music you hear. Play that music through your feet, and in turn you will move others. I strongly encourage you to listen to jazz, but also a wide range of music. It doesn't matter so much what we listened to, but more the way in which we hear it. Music is within you. It is improved through practice and deepened through emotion. It's now up to you to find that balance as you further your cell through this great art form. I also recommend you study the masters of tap. Pay attention to their sounds and unique styles. They all very different and very unique. A lot of tap is just finding out who you are and what it is. You have to say. Once again, thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I hope to meet you in person one day. And I wish you all the best on your own personal journey through rhythm tapped downs.