Lesson 37 / 41 7 min
Repeats and road maps
Repeat signs, first and second endings, D.C., D.S., Fine, Coda, bar repeats and multi-bar rests.
Songs repeat a lot: verses, choruses, riffs. Instead of writing everything out, scores use signs that tell you where to go next — the road map of the piece. Learn them and a two-page chart can hold a whole song.
In every example below, press Play and watch the cursor: it follows the repeats and jumps exactly as you should.
Bar lines
| Bar line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Single line | Separates bars |
| Double line (two thin lines) | End of a section, or a change of key or time |
| Final bar line (thin + thick) | End of the piece |
| Dashed line | Splits a long bar for readability — not a real bar |
Repeat signs
A pair of repeat signs — a thick bar line with two dots facing the music — means "play this section twice". Go back to the start repeat (dots on the right) when you reach the end repeat (dots on the left). If there's no start repeat, go back to the beginning of the piece.
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When a section is played more than twice, the number of times is written above the end repeat: x3, 3x or "play 3 times".
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First and second endings
Often a repeated section ends differently the second time. Volta brackets marked 1. and 2. handle this: the first time, play the bar(s) under 1. and repeat; the second time, skip them and jump straight to 2.
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You can also see 1. 2. over one ending (play it the first and second time) and 3. over the next, and so on.
D.C., D.S., Fine and Coda
These Italian terms send you back and forward across larger sections:
| Sign | Means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| D.C. (Da Capo) | "from the head" | Go back to the beginning |
| D.S. (Dal Segno) | "from the sign" | Go back to the segno sign 𝄋 |
| Fine | "end" | Stop here — but only after a D.C. or D.S. |
| al Fine | "to the end" | After the jump, play until Fine |
| To Coda ⊕ | After the jump, from here go to the Coda | |
| al Coda | "to the coda" | After the jump, play until To Coda, then skip to the Coda |
| Coda ⊕ | "tail" | The ending section |
After a D.C. or D.S. jump, repeats are normally not taken again — just play straight through (some scores say "with repeats" when they want them).
D.C. al Fine
Play to the end, go back to the beginning, and stop at Fine:
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D.S. al Coda
Play to the D.S., go back to the segno (𝄋), play until To Coda, then jump to the Coda (⊕):
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The order here is bars 1-2-3-4-5, then 2-3, then the coda.
Bar repeats and multi-bar rests
- One-bar repeat (a slash with two dots, like %) — play the previous bar again. A version with two slashes repeats the previous two bars. Several in a row are common in rhythm parts.
- Multi-bar rest — a thick bar with a number above it: rest for that many bars. Count them carefully!
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The word simile (or sim.) means "keep going in the same way" — for example, keep palm muting or keep the same strumming pattern.
Rehearsal marks and bar numbers
Longer scores mark sections with rehearsal marks — boxed letters (A, B, C) or names like Verse and Chorus — so musicians can say "let's start from B". Bar numbers at the start of each line help too.
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Map the piece before you play
Before reading a new piece, scan it for repeat signs, endings, D.C./D.S., segno and coda signs. Trace the route with your finger once — then you won't get lost while playing.