What is a TOCCATA?

ENGAGE students

A toccata (tuh-KAH-tah) is a piece of music that shows off some of the many skills a musician needs to play a piece. Try saying that word: toccata. Today we will focus on toccatas that were written for keyboard instruments, including the piano, the harpsichord, and the organ.

"Toccata" literally means "to touch." Think about all the ways a pianist (or harpsichordist, or organist) must touch the keys to create different sounds. Musicians must develop something called technique in order to play their instrument well. Technique is basically all the stuff you need to do with your body to make a great sound come out of the instrument. For keyboard players of any kind, this has a lot to do with how you use your fingers to touch the keys.

Can you think of a few other jobs or hobbies that require technique? Look at the chart below and think about what techniques you need to be a chef, a surgeon, a woodworker, a gardener, or an athlete.

EXPLORE sounds

Listen to some or all of the following toccatas for keyboard instruments. Sometimes you will see the performer playing, and sometimes you will just hear the music. If you don't see the performer playing the piece, imagine what they might look like when they play.

As you listen, journal or reflect on what kinds of techniques the performer must use. Here are a few questions to help get you thinking:

• Do they need to move fast?

• If they are moving fast, what part of their body needs to move fast? Their fingers, wrists, or arms?

• How do you think a performer must move their fingers to hold some keys down while letting others go?

• Do you notice that the organist must also use another body part? What is it?

The first toccata is Toccata V from Six Piano Etudes by Unsuk Chin.

The second toccata is simply called Toccata, by Aram Khachaturian.

The third toccata is Toccata, by Sergei Prokofiev. You will see all the things the performer's hands need to do in this video.

The fourth toccata is by Francis Poulenc. Do you notice or hear any different techniques in this one?

The fifth performance is Toccata, by Maurice Ravel.

The sixth toccata is performed on the harpsichord, a relative of the piano. It's by Geralomo Frescobaldi and is called Toccata Seconda and it was written way back in 1615.

The seventh toccata is played on the organ. It's called Toccata, and it is part of a suite (or group) of pieces called Suite Gothique, by Leon Boellmann.

The eighth toccata is by Franz Liszt.

The ninth is the Toccata from Four Piano Pieces by Marion Bauer.

EXTEND learning

How would you describe a toccata to someone? What music vocabulary words would you use? How many hours do you think a musician needs to practice to play some of these pieces?