You have probably seen Da Capo’s and Dal Segno’s in your music before and you might wonder about how to approach these. I have seen a number of occasions where signs like these are ignored or misinterpreted by students and it’s something that you should definitely be aware of and plan for. For more information about repeat signs and their importance in your music please view our previous video: The Importance of Repeat Signs in Music.
Repeat symbols are placed within scores to save paper but interpreting them can be a real challenge sometimes. Especially if you are sight reading, you might not have time to sit down and really analyze a piece of music, so learning how these repeat signs work and what they mean is very important.
D.C. – Da Capo
This symbol is a signal to go back to the beginning of the music.
D.S. – Dal Segno
This symbol tells you to go back to the sign.
This is the symbol you will want to look for:
But here is the real challenge. How you deal with these symbols if you already have repeat signs in your music?
Generally, unless the score says otherwise, you will want to play the repeats the first time through the section but once you go back with the D.C. or D.S. you will no longer play the repeat signs. If this is confusing don’t worry, it is! If you have the time to digest your music it’s going to be a lot easier but having to play it the first time through might be a challenge.
To make matters even more difficult, there might be additional instructions in your music. As I stated before, symbols and repeat signs are used as a way to save paper. So, even if they are confusing it’s much easier than flipping through dozens of pages of a score. Make sure you go over your music and understand the repeat signs as necessary.
So remember: if you are going back with a D.C. or a D.S. you will ignore the other repeat signs in your music (unless otherwise noted in the score).