Expressive Elements in Music Performance
Senior 3 · Music
Expressive Elements in Music Performance
Lesson 4 of 4
30 min
Most songs repeat: verse, chorus, verse, chorus. Writing every repeat out in full wastes paper and makes the score hard to follow, so composers write each passage once and add signs that work like road signs: go back, take this turning the first time and that one the second time, jump to the sign, stop here. A performer who misreads them gets lost in front of the audience, so reading the "road map" is part of the performance.
Definition
Repeat signs: a pair of thick-and-thin barlines with two dots facing the music between them. Play the passage between them twice. If there is no start sign, go back to the beginning.
First and second endings (first-time and second-time bars): bracketed bars marked 1. and 2. Play the first ending before the repeat; on the repeat, skip it and play the second ending.
Da Capo (D.C.): "from the head", go back to the beginning. Dal Segno (D.S.): "from the sign", go back to the sign, called the segno (a slanted S with a line and two dots).
Fine: "end", where the piece stops after a D.C. or D.S. Coda: "tail", a closing section marked with the coda sign (a circle with a cross).
The first time, play bars 1, 2 and 3 (the first ending), then the repeat sign sends you back. The second time, play bars 1 and 2, skip the first ending and go straight to bar 4 (the second ending).
| Direction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| D.C. al Fine | Go back to the beginning and play until the word Fine. |
| D.C. al Coda | Go back to the beginning, play to To Coda and the coda sign, then jump to the Coda. |
| D.S. al Fine | Go back to the segno and play until Fine. |
| D.S. al Coda | Go back to the segno, play to To Coda, then jump to the Coda. |
On the way back after a D.C. or D.S., performers usually do not take the repeat signs a second time unless the score says so. The Fine and To Coda marks only apply on the way back: the first time through you play past them.
Worked example
Worked example 1: D.C. al Fine. A six-bar song has Fine at the end of bar 4 and D.C. al Fine at the end of bar 6. In what order are the bars played?
Worked example
Worked example 2: endings and time. An eight-bar tune in four-four at ♩ = 120 has a start repeat before bar 1, a first ending on bar 4 with an end repeat, and a second ending on bar 5, followed by bars 6, 7 and 8. How long does it last?
Before you play a new piece, trace the route with your finger and say the bar numbers aloud. Mark the turning points in pencil: circle the segno, the Fine and the To Coda sign. In a group, agree on the route before you start, especially whether repeats are taken after a D.C. or D.S.
Class activity. In groups, write a short song plan of eight bars on the board using at least one repeat with endings and one D.S. or D.C. Swap plans with another group, who must say the order of the bars and then clap the rhythm in that order.
Video: "ALL ABOUT REPEATS | Repeat Signs, Endings, DC, DS, Fine, Coda", Mikayla Feldman. It walks through repeat signs, endings, D.C. al Fine, D.C. al Coda, D.S. al Fine and D.S. al Coda. Pause before each answer and trace the route yourself.
Tip
Read the Italian: capo = head (the beginning), segno = sign, fine = end, coda = tail. "Al" means "to": D.S. al Coda is "from the sign to the coda".
Warning
Common mistakes. (1) Stopping at Fine the first time through: it only counts after the D.C. or D.S. (2) Playing the first ending again on the repeat. (3) Going back to the beginning on a D.S.: D.S. goes back to the segno, not to bar 1.
Practice
Remember
Further reading
Sources and credits
