DE trocken articulation advanced Support my free tools
dry, with reduced resonance and a contained release; write trocken in full
How is trocken played?
Reduce lingering resonance enough to produce the requested dry result. The means are instrument-specific and can include a prompt release, restrained pedal, damping, muting or stopping; a publisher performance note for dry percussion explicitly names several such means. Trocken can overlap with staccato or secco, but it does not prescribe one proportional note length, universal no-pedal rule or fixed amount of silence. Read it here as a technical sound and release target rather than assuming an emotional character.
How does trocken sound?
A short, crisp sound that ends immediately, with no resonant tail.
In context
German trocken means dry and is related in practice to Italian secco and French sec. Scores and performance notes show that the result can depend on release, resonance control, damping or muffling rather than one universal symbol. The complete German word remains the supported notation.