## 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.

They exist because a repeated section often needs to finish differently the second time — once to lead back round, once to move on.


## How To Spot First And Second Endings

Numbered brackets above the staff near a repeat sign, each covering one or more measures.


## Find It In Thirty Seconds

Trace the path with a finger: through the first ending, back to the repeat, then jump over the first ending into the second. Do it before you play, not during.

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.