I've danced extensively, and tap can be brutal for the sheer number of steps you need to remember. Other dance disciplines, like ballet, tend to chunk sets of smaller movements into a larger, named one, so once you learn those sequences, it's easy to learn and recall longer routines. The way ballet is put together aligns with advice from brain science about chunking objects in memory for better recall. But tap has few of those chunked sequences, other than the "time step," so you're left trying to parse long strings of very finite instructions. "Left ball right heel left flap ball change..." Personally I found it overwhelming and didn't pursue tap into the most advanced levels for that reason.
Aside: it seemed like neurotypical folks struggled less with tap than I did as an AuDHD person, so tap may land differently with different neurotypes.
Tangentially related wittering (I have flu, I'm a bit illucid rn):
I do karate, I find sequenced moves to be a real mental struggle. But then I couldn't skip until I was a teenager. I blame/describe that as arrhythmia. I can't clap in time either.
> The book was written partly as a response to the misrepresented but increasingly commonplace idea of the "10,000-hour rule," popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his 2008 book Outliers and which Gladwell had based on Ericsson's own research.
Thanks for that reference. Having read Outliers years ago, Peak sounds like a useful follow-on and the concept of “deliberate practice” makes sense to me.
I’ve been learning guitar over the past couple of years and I still struggle with many aspects (with good rhythm and timing being the most difficult). I’m mostly self-taught (justinguitar.com) but have recently started a music class to get feedback on my playing. My wife is also learning Mandarin and it sounds like the kind of book that she’d be interested in.
> I’ve been learning guitar over the past couple of years and I still struggle with many aspects (with good rhythm and timing being the most difficult).
Arrhythmia and trouble doing sequenced moves… that’s interesting. I can’t quite make the connection but wouldn’t be surprised if there is one. On the flip side, I’ve actually used rhythm to help me memorize things at times, e.g. saying multiplication tables like they’re a poem or a chant. My kid just picked this up from me and started doing it on her own and it seemed to accelerate her learning.
Aside: it seemed like neurotypical folks struggled less with tap than I did as an AuDHD person, so tap may land differently with different neurotypes.