Doch

As Printed on a Score

Joins a heading to a counterweight: “Nicht zu geschwind, doch kräftig”, “In gehender Bewegung, doch mit Ausdruck”, “Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch”. It belongs to the heading it sits in and lasts as long as that heading; it is rarely printed in mid-passage directions.

How Composers Use It

Close to aber but a shade more literary — the tone of Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms headings. It warns that the second quality must survive the first: motion without losing expression, restraint without losing strength. Choose doch or aber, not both, and keep the second half short, since it is often what the player remembers.

Example

Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a (“Les Adieux”), second movement (“Abwesenheit”), m. 1: “In gehender Bewegung, doch mit Ausdruck”, beside “Andante espressivo”, at p.

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