The form first appeared in the Baroque music period. It often features rapid runs and arpeggios alternating with chordal or fugal sections. Sometimes there is a lack of regular tempo, and an improvisational feel.
Among the most famous toccatas are those by Johann Sebastian Bach. His toccatas for organ are often followed by an independent fugue movement. In such cases the toccata is used in place of the usually more stable prelude. His toccatas for harpsichord are multi-sectional works which include fugal writing as part of their structure.
Other baroque composers of toccatas include Girolamo Frescobaldi, Johann Jacob Froberger, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Alessandro Scarlatti and Dietrich Buxtehude.
Beyond the baroque period, toccatas are found less frequently, though there are a few notable examples. Robert Schumann wrote a toccata for solo piano, as did Maurice Ravel as part of Le tombeau de Couperin. One of the best known toccatas for organ from this period is the one which ends Charles-Marie Widor's Symphony No. 5.