In this study, music students from Bulgaria and from the United States tapped along with Bulgarian folk music. Unlike many tapping studies, stimuli were performances by Bulgarian musicians recorded by the author. Two recordings had time signatures of 7/8 but different tempos and rhythmic patterns, and a third recording had a time signature of 2/2. The tempos of these recordings were manipulated to introduce equivalencies so that, for instance, stimuli included versions of the two different pieces in 7/8 at the same tempo. Timing of participants’ taps was measured, and the results were analyzed using several descriptive methods. The study was not designed to isolate variables fully or to produce statistically significant results; instead, the exploratory approach allows for naturalistic stimuli and for consideration of several rhythmic factors with data from a limited number of participants. As expected, Bulgarian participants synchronized with the recordings more successfully than Americans did, but more fine-grained patterns reflecting participants’ past experience were also apparent, such as Americans’ tendency to tap a son clave rhythm while synchronizing with one of the recordings. The results also suggest effects of tempo and interactions between tempo and meter, especially for listeners unfamiliar with the musical style, and indicate that other musical factors besides tempo and meter, such as the clarity and pitch frequency with which the performers articulate certain metric layers, likely affect tapping responses. More generally, this study demonstrates the value of varied methods of experiment design and data analysis.