A coda is the ending section of a piece, marked with a circle-and-cross symbol. You jump to it from a To Coda mark after taking a D.C. or D.S. repeat.
Coda is Italian for "tail". The jump only happens on the repeat pass, the first time through you play straight past the To Coda mark as though it were not there.
How to spot it
A circle with a cross through it, above the staff, both where you leave and where you land.
Find it in thirty seconds
Find both coda symbols in a piece and trace the jump. Then play the passage twice: straight through the first time, jumping the second.
Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.
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How to Read Sheet Music: Learn how to read sheet music using interactive lessons from Chordzy. Or browse our various reading music topics.
Music Notation Glossary: Every symbol on a page of piano music, explained in one sentence each, clefs, note values, rests, accidentals, dynamics and repeat marks.
Da Capo (D.C.): Da Capo (D.C.) in piano music. D.C. means go back to the beginning. D.C. al Fine means go back and stop at the word Fine; D.C. al Coda means go back and jump t…
Dal Segno (D.S.): Dal Segno (D.S.) in piano music. D.S. means go back to the sign (𝄋), not to the beginning. D.S. al Coda means go back to the sign and then jump to the coda wh…
First and Second Endings: First and Second Endings in piano music. First and second endings are the bracketed bars marked 1. and 2. Play the first ending, take the repeat, then skip it…
Repeat Sign: Repeat Sign in piano music. A repeat sign is a double bar line with two dots. Play up to it, then go back to the matching sign facing the other way, or to the…
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Crescendo: Crescendo in piano music. A crescendo means get gradually louder. It is written as cresc. or as a hairpin that opens to the right.
