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How is giocoso played?
The performer brings a light, good-humoured, playful spirit to the music, often with a buoyant rhythmic bounce and a sense of fun. Composers frequently attach giocoso to a tempo word to colour the speed with character, as in 'Allegro giocoso', and it sits naturally in the scherzo tradition where movements are by definition 'jokes'. Brahms marks the third movement of his Symphony No. 4 'Allegro giocoso', a vigorous, almost boisterous scherzo-in-spirit. The marking tells the player the music should feel witty and energetic rather than merely fast.
How does giocoso sound?
The music sounds cheerful, light-footed and high-spirited, often with crisp articulation and rhythmic snap.
In context
Giocoso appears in standard glossaries as 'playful'. A well-known instance is the third movement of Brahms's Symphony No. 4, marked 'Allegro giocoso', a robustly playful scherzo-form movement.