DAL SEGNO

In music notation, 'Dal Segno' (pronounced [ˈdalˌ ˈseˌɲo] or [ˈdalˌ ˈseˌnjo] but commonly mispronounced as [ˈdælˌ ˈsɛgˌno]) (often abbreviated 'D.S.') is used as a navigation marker. From Italian for "from the sign," D.S. appears in sheet music and instructs a musician to repeat a passage starting from the symbol shown at right, sometimes called the "segno" in English.
Two common variants:

★ 'D.S. al coda' instructs the musician to repeat back to the symbol, and when ''Da Coda'' is reached jump to the Coda symbol.

★ 'D.S. al fine' instructs the musician to repeat back to the symbol, 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 arias were a common alternative to da capo arias which began with a opening ritornello, which was then omitted in the repeat (the sign being placed after the ritornello).

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See also

See also

★ Da capo