Query by Tapping is an emerging paradigm for content-based music retrieval, which we have explored through our web-based music search system. Based on the results obtained from our system we argue that searching for music by tapping the rhythm of a song's melody is intuitive and effective. In this paper we describe two novel algorithms to analyze tapping input. We present results indicating good accuracy rates among a broad spectrum of both trained and untrained users. Query by tapping has an important potential as a form of human-computer communication. We indicate how our algorithms to analyze tapping might be used in other areas such as music education and user authentication.