Repeats, endings, D.S. al Coda and D.C. al Fine: reading the road map

Updated 16 October 2026

Sheet music is not always played from the first bar to the last. Repeat signs, endings and jumps – together called the road map – tell you where to go next. Here is every common sign, each with a short example and the playing order spelled out bar by bar.

Repeat signs

A section between a start repeat sign (a thick and a thin bar line with two dots after them) and an end repeat sign (two dots, then the bar lines) is played twice. If there is no start repeat sign, go back to the beginning of the piece.

Playing order: 1 2 3 4 · 1 2 3 4

First and second endings

Endings – also called volta brackets – are numbered brackets over the last bars of a repeated section. The first time through, play the first ending and go back. The second time, skip the first ending and play the second. An ending marked 1.–3. is played on passes one to three, and 4. on the last.

Playing order: 1 2 3 4 · 1 2 3 5 6

Play three times

3×, x3 or play 3 times at an end repeat sign means the section is played three times instead of two.

1
3×2
3

Playing order: 1 2 · 1 2 · 1 2 3

D.C. al Fine

D.C. stands for da capo, "from the head": go back to the very beginning. Al Fine means play until the word Fine ("end") and stop there. Fine is ignored the first time through – it only counts after the jump.

1
2
3
Fine4
5
6
7
D.C. al Fine8

Playing order: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 · 1 2 3 4

D.C. al Coda works like D.S. al Coda below, only the jump goes to the beginning instead of the sign.

D.S. al Coda

D.S. stands for dal segno, "from the sign": go back to the segno . Al Coda means play until To Coda, then jump to the coda – the ending section, usually set apart at the end of the piece. Like Fine, To Coda is ignored the first time through.

1
2
3
4
5
To Coda 6
7
D.S. al Coda8
9
10

Playing order: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 · 3 4 5 6 · 9 10

D.S. al Fine is the same jump back to the sign, but you play on until Fine instead of jumping to a coda.

Repeats after a jump

By convention, repeats are not played again after a D.C. or D.S. jump: you go straight through, and where there are endings you take the last one. If the composer wants the repeats, the score says so – D.C. con rip. (con ripetizione) or with repeats.

1
2
3
1.4
2.Fine5
6
D.C. al Fine7

Playing order: 1 2 3 4 · 1 2 3 5 6 7 · 1 2 3 5

Quick reference

Sign	What to do
Repeat signs	Play the section between them twice. No start sign: repeat from the beginning.
1. 2. endings	Play the ending whose number matches the pass you are on.
3× / x3	Play the repeated section three times.
D.C.	Da capo – go back to the beginning.
D.S.	Dal segno – go back to the sign.
al Fine	…and stop at Fine.
al Coda	…and at To Coda , jump to the coda.
Coda	The closing section, played after the jump.
con rip.	Take the repeats again after the jump.

Let the app keep track

Duly Noted reads these signs from your PDF or photo, works out the playing order and plays the piece the way it is written, highlighting the bar you are on – so you can hear where the D.S. takes you before you play it yourself. If a sign was misread, click the bar to correct it. Read more about how optical music recognition works.