Coda
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 Coda
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.
Related Topics...
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.): 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 to the coda when you reach the c…
Dal Segno (D.S.): 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 when you reach the coda mark.
First and Second Endings: First and second endings are the bracketed bars marked 1. and 2. Play the first ending, take the repeat, then skip it and play the second ending instead.
Repeat Sign: 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 beginning if there is none…
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Crescendo: A crescendo means get gradually louder. It is written as cresc. or as a hairpin that opens to the right.