tocadas

Tocadas is a term used in Iberian and Latin American music, derived from the verb tocar, meaning to touch or to play. In a broad sense, a tocada denotes the act of playing an instrument, or a piece, passage, or set performed by a musician. The plural tocadas is commonly used to refer to performances or repertoire.

In guitar- and string-centered traditions, tocada often denotes a musical figure, passage, or riff that highlights a particular technique or tone, such as a plucking or strumming pattern. In Brazilian Portuguese, tocada is frequently used to describe guitar or cavaquinho accompaniment figures and to melodic-rhythmic figures that characterize regional styles like choro, samba, and MPB.

In percussion contexts, tocada means a hit or stroke on a drum, cymbal, or other instrument, forming part of a groove or rhythmic figure. It can appear in score markings or in informal speech to describe a drummer's specific stroke sequence.

Tocadas should not be confused with the Italian term toccata, which refers to a virtuoso baroque piece focused on rapid keyboard or plucked-string passages. While related in etymology, tocadas are broader and vary by language and musical tradition.

Because its use is dialectically variable, tocada takes different nuances in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities, ranging from a single performance to a melodic passage or rhythmic hit within a larger work.