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Stopped — in horn playing, inserting the hand fully into the bell to produce a muted, nasal, metallic tone. The French equivalent of "gestopft."
Bouché (or gestopft in German, chiuso in Italian) produces a distinctive buzzy, metallic tone on the horn. Use it for mysterious, eerie, or aggressive effects. Mark "ouvert" (open) or "naturale" to return to normal.
Mahler uses bouché horns extensively — the stopped horn passages in his symphonies create otherworldly, ghostly effects.
Bouché is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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