Toccata

I've been listening to some of Bach's toccata and fugues and i'd quite like to have a go at writing one of my own. I've managed to grasp the basics of the fugue from articles on Young Composers.

Are there any qualities to a toccata i should know about before I begin writing one, and if so would someone please tell me?

Thanks,

Let 'em rip :w00t:

Or, er, make it virtuosic ;)......TOUCH!

what's wrong with wikipedia?

what's wrong with wikipedia?

Don't get me wrong, I use wikipedia for a lot of things, but on some subjects it can be kinda sketchy... i think the article on toccatas is actually a stub...

No it isn't.

It's true that Wikipedia is lacking in some areas (it would be very surprising if it weren't), but the article on fugue, for instance, is quite comprehensive. As are many other articles. And some are short and badly written. It varies from article to article, and, while I'm fine with people having opinions about the philosophy behind Wikipedia, the actual quality of its articles ought to be judged on a case-by-case basis.

what's wrong with wikipedia?

Took the exact words right out of my mouth. Although wikipedia does have some small articles, most are suprisingly large. Some articles on pretty unknown composers are actually larger than the respective article on grove...

You should study counterpoint more if you want to tackle writing a fugue and making it good.

From my understanding toccata's and fugues aren't nec. the same, although they do fall hand in hand. I'm pretty sure all a Toccata is is a techincally difficult organ piece, while fugues have rules, yadda yadda.

But like i said, usually they fall hand in hand.