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Music vocabulary · Performance and Practice

Da capo

Meaning in music, with examples

phraseAdvanced term

In music, da capo means: An instruction meaning return to the beginning and play again, usually until another marking tells you where to stop.

In Turkish: başa dön

How it is used

Seen in written music, especially in vocal and classical repertoire. Performers follow it to repeat earlier material without rewriting it fully.

Example sentences

  1. At the da capo marking, the pianist returned to the opening theme and skipped the final bars at the fine sign.

    Here da capo is a written direction that sends the performer back to the start of the piece.

  2. Please mark the da capo clearly, or the singers may continue forward instead of repeating the first section.

    In this example, the term functions as a navigation instruction inside the score, guiding the form.

Common collocations

  • da capo marking
  • go da capo
  • da capo repeat
  • da capo aria
  • scoreWritten music that shows all the parts of a piece together, one above the other. It also means the original music written for a film, series or game.
  • sheet musicMusic written or printed in notation on paper or a screen, so that musicians can read and play it.

More terms: Performance and Practice

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