Definition: A repeat bar is a musical symbol resembling a final barline with two dots in the middle spaces of the staff. A passage written between two repeat bars will be played at least two times*:
||: Begin Repeat (or “left repeat”): If there is an ‘end repeat’ but no begin bar, you’ll repeat from the beginning of the song. Upon completion of the repetition(s), continue to the measures following the end repeat.* If a repeated passage has two or more different resolutions, volta brackets are used.
:|| End Repeat (or “right repeat”): If the end repeat is also the final barline, the song will end after the repetitions.
- Reading Repeat Barlines:
Learn more about simple repeat signs. - Complex Musical Repeats:
How to read and play D.S. and D.C. al coda / fine.
Also Known As:
- repeat sign
- la ripetizione (It)
- barre de reprise (Fr)
- das Wiederholungszeichen (Ger)
