The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Chapter 7:Tempo, Dynamics, and Navigation

Another navigation technique uses a separate section of music called the Coda.
When you insert a Coda signin your music, that indicates that you should
jump to the section marked Coda. A common navigation technique is notated
“D.C. al Coda” or “D.C. al Fine,” where you jump to the beginning of the
song and then follow through to the Coda or the end (Fine). The following
table details these and other common Italian navigation markings.

Italian Navigation Markings

Marking Means ...

D.C. al Fine Go back to the beginning and play through to the end.

D.C. al Coda Go back to the beginning and play to the Coda sign; then

skip to the Coda section.

D.S. al Fine Go back to the Segno sign and play through to the end.

D.S. al Coda Go back to the Segno sign and play to the Coda sign; then

skip to the Coda section.

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“D.S.” is short for

Dal Segno, which means

“from the Segno” (or, in

English, “from the sign”).

“D.C.” is short for Dal

Capo, which means “from

the head” or “from the

start.” (Capois Italian for

“head”—literally, the top

of the chart.)

Definition

Use the Segno (left) and Coda (right) signs to navigate a piece of music.

Repeating Measures

If you have only a single measure to repeat, you can use a measure repeatsign.
Just insert this sign between the bar lines afterthe measure you want to repeat;
musicians will know to repeat the previous measure.

Use the measure repeat sign to repeat the contents of the previous measure.

You can use the measure repeat sign in multiple measures. For example, if you

have three measures worth of repeat signs, you play the original measure four

times (the original time plus three repeats).

Repeating Notes

If you’re really lazy, you’ll like the fact that you don’t always have to write each

individual note in a piece of music. If you’re repeating notes of the same rhyth-

mic value and pitch, you can use note repeatnotation to spare yourself the trou-

ble of writing down all those eighth or sixteenth notes in a row.