Da capo

What it means

Da capo means “from the head,” that is, “from the beginning,” and asks that at a marked spot you return to the start of the piece and play again from there. The abbreviation is D.C.

The instruction is almost always supplemented to fix how far to play after the jump back. Da capo al fine asks you to play up to the spot marked fine. The abbreviation D.C. usually stands at the end of the section after which the jump back is to take place. In popular music and in lead sheets this form of jump is used very often, because it notates long pieces in a space-saving way.

Da capo is to be distinguished from dal segno, which leads back not to the beginning but to a sign. Both save music paper in forms whose opening section returns.

In the notation

The instruction stands at the end of the section after which the jump back is made, usually above or below the last bar line. The spot at which the piece ends after the jump back is marked fine. Repeat signs within the repeated part are, by widespread practice, not observed on the second pass unless stated otherwise.

Musical use

The instruction shapes entire forms. The Baroque da capo aria consists of a main section, a contrasting middle section, and the repeat of the main section; on the repeat, singers were expected to ornament the melody. Minuet and trio, scherzo and trio, and many dances and songs also use the instruction.

In the Baroque da capo aria the A section is repeated after the B section, the singers ornamenting the section. In the minuet with trio, one jumps back to the beginning after the trio; the repeats are then usually omitted. The abbreviation is D.C.

Performance practice

Before the first pass, look for the fine spot and mark it clearly. Settle whether repeats are played the second time. Take care that the ending at the fine spot sounds like an ending. And with da capo arias, check whether ornaments are expected in the second pass.