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In music notation, Dal Segno (pronounced ['dal? 'se??o] or ['dal? 'se?njo] but commonly mispronounced as ['dæl? 's?g?no]) (often abbreviated D.S.) is used as a navigation marker. From Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 for "from the sign," D.S. appears in sheet music
Sheet music

Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of musical notation; like its analogs?books, pamphlets, etc.?the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens....
 and instructs a musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
 to repeat a passage starting from the sign shown at right, sometimes called the "segno" in English.

Two common variants:






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In music notation, Dal Segno (pronounced ['dal? 'se??o] or ['dal? 'se?njo] but commonly mispronounced as ['dæl? 's?g?no]) (often abbreviated D.S.) is used as a navigation marker. From Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 for "from the sign," D.S. appears in sheet music
Sheet music

Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of musical notation; like its analogs?books, pamphlets, etc.?the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens....
 and instructs a musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
 to repeat a passage starting from the sign shown at right, sometimes called the "segno" in English.

Two common variants:
  • D.S. al Coda instructs the musician to repeat back to the sign, and when Al Coda or To Coda is reached jump to the Coda
    Coda

    Coda can denote any concluding event, summation, or section. It may also refer to:Music*Coda, a passage which brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation...
     symbol.
  • D.S. al Fine instructs the musician to repeat back to the sign, and end the piece at the measure marked Fine.


Al Segno indicates that the player should go to the sign.

In operas of the 18th century, Da Segno aria
Aria

An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment....
s were a common alternative to da capo aria
Da capo aria

The da capo aria was a musical form prevalent in the Baroque music era. It was sung by a soloist with the accompaniment of instruments, often a small orchestra....
s which began with an opening ritornello
Ritornello

In Baroque music, ritornello was the word for a recurring passage for orchestra in the first or final movement of a solo concerto or aria . In ritornello form, the Musical terminology#T opens with a Theme called the ritornello ....
, which was then omitted in the repeat (the sign being placed after the ritornello).

See also

  • Da capo
    Da capo

    Da Capo is a musical term in Italian language, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C.. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music....