toccando

Toccando is the Italian gerund form of the verb toccare, meaning “touching” or “being touched.” In ordinary Italian, it functions as a present participle or gerund to describe ongoing action, such as touching or handling something.

In music, toccando is used as a stylistic directive in some scores. It is related to the terms toccata and tocation that emerge from the Italian habit of prescribing expressive styles. When encountered, toccando often signals a toccata-like approach, emphasizing touch, rapid figures, and a virtuosic, lively character rather than sustained cantabile playing. The indication is typically associated with keyboard repertoire from the Baroque period and its practice, where composers aimed to showcase a performer's agility and command of keyboard technique. In practice, the exact meaning can vary between editions and composers, and toccando is usually considered a stylistic cue rather than a precise tempo marking.

Historically, the toccata originated in Italy in the late Renaissance and early Baroque era as a free, virtuosic form focused on timbre and touch. The term toccando appears in discussions of this lineage as a description of touch-focused playing within that broader tradition. Today, while the more common musical forms and markings remain toccata and related expressions, toccando may still be found in some scores to convey a specific touch-oriented character.

Beyond music, toccando simply means “touching” in Italian and can appear in ordinary language to describe contact or handling of objects, instruments, or surfaces. See also: toccata, toc nearby terms, and the verb toccare.