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 coda sign.
Da capo is Italian for "from the head". It is a way of writing an A-B-A form without printing the A section twice, and it is why a two-page piece can be three minutes long.
How To Spot Da Capo
The letters D.C. below the staff, usually with al Fine or al Coda after them.
Find It In Thirty Seconds
Find a D.C. and mark the route in pencil — to the top, then where you stop or jump. Getting lost at a D.C. is the most common sight-reading derailment there is.
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.
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.
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.
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…
More in This Section
Diminuendo (Decrescendo): A diminuendo means get gradually softer. It is written as dim., decresc., or a hairpin that closes to the right.