Without musical accompaniment: This is a total creation of some thing out of nothing, where the progressive development of the self created rhythm is embellished over and over again. It is usually where a tap dancer can shine as it is totally the work of the dancer out on his own with out a safety net. However it usually falls into a format consisting of a start a middle and an ending.

With musical accompaniment: Is the ability to find space's and fill them with a rhythmic riff or accent. Off beats are common place as the very nature of improvised tap with accompanying music must use the off beats, as to tap on the beat too often would defeat the object of adding your own personality to the piece. A tap improvisation must be significantly different to the music it is performed and also contribute to the piece in a complimentary way.

In order to achieve the above goals the mind must be free of all effort to tap, as only with long period's of practice can tap become second nature. The only thought to go through the mind is not how to tap but when to tap. If your slow on your feet, you'll be late hitting that beat.