D.C. and D.S. are abbreviations for the musical terms “da capo” and “dal segno”. Da capo means “from the beginning” in Italian, while dal segno means “from the sign” (or “from the mark”). These terms indicate where a performer should start and stop playing a piece of music.
Contents
What is D.C. (da capo) in Music?
D.C. stands for the Italian musical term “da capo,” meaning “from the beginning.” If you see this in music, play the piece from the start again.
A repeat symbol tells the performer to play a section, or the entire piece, again. D.C. (da capo) is usually written at the final measure as a cue to return to the very start.
What is D.S. (dal segno) in Music?
D.S. stands for the Italian term “dal segno,” meaning “from the sign.” In music, this directs you to restart from a specific symbol (usually an S). You follow D.S. at the point where the music indicates to begin again.
This symbol marks the start of a section to be repeated. The directive comes in two forms: D.S. al fine and D.S. al coda.
D.S. Al fine
D.S. al fine means “from the sign to the end.” This tells the performer to start from the sign and stop at the end, marked by the final measure.
D.S. Al coda
D.S. al coda translates as “from the sign to the coda mark.” The performer goes back to the sign, plays through to the coda symbol, and then skips ahead to the following coda section.
