Abbreviations and Repeat Signs
After this lesson, you'll be able to follow the road map of a score without mistakes, with its repeats, the sign, Da Capo, Dal Segno and the coda, and to read the most common abbreviations.
Notation often uses abbreviations, especially in instrumental music. They save you from copying out what is repeated, and they make the score easier to read. Let's begin with the most common one, the repeat.
The repeat
A repeat is a section of a piece meant to be played twice in a row. It is enclosed between two double bar lines: the first is followed by two dots, and the second is preceded by two dots.
When the repeat starts at the very beginning of the piece, the first double bar is left out, and the second one, preceded by two dots, is enough.
First and second endings
Sometimes, on the repeat, one or more measures at the end must be replaced by others. This is shown by numbered brackets: the first ending, whose measures you play the first time only, and the second ending, whose measures you play on the repeat, in place of the first ending. In the UK, these are called first-time and second-time bars.
The sign and Da Capo
The sign, “segno” in Italian, is usually written 𝄋. When it appears for the second time, it tells you to go back to the place where it first appeared.
When the return is to the beginning of the piece, the score says Da Capo, or D.C. for short, which means “from the head”. You then stop at the word Fine, meaning “end”, or at the fermata placed over the double bar.
Other abbreviations
After repeats and the sign, Danhauser gives a table of the most common abbreviations. Here is what it contains, described in words:
| How it is written | Effect |
|---|---|
| A long note whose stem (or, for a whole note, the place where the stem would be) is crossed by slanted slashes | The note is repeated in eighth notes with one slash, in sixteenth notes with two slashes, and so on, for its full length: this is the measured tremolo |
| Two notes joined by beams, without a shared stem | The two notes alternate rapidly for the length shown (two-note tremolo) |
| A group written once, followed by slanted slashes on the staff | The group is repeated as many times as there are signs |
| A slash between two dots, in the middle of an empty measure | Repeat the previous measure (the measure repeat sign) |
| A number above a measure or a passage, with or without the word “bis” | The passage is repeated that many times |
| 8va (or 8) followed by a dotted line above the notes | The notes are played an octave higher; the word “loco” marks the return to written pitch |
| A chord written once, then notes reduced to slashes, or the word “simile” | Continue the same accompaniment pattern |
In what order do you play the measures of this piece? Number the measures from 1 to 8.