Moments with the Dictionary of Music #1

This is the first of a new weekly posting series. It’s all about music, and musical terms! The definitions will be taken from The Harvard Dictionary of Music, unless otherwise noted. The definitions and descriptions may be abbreviated from what is found in the dictionary.


I have a weakness for spending time reading the dictionary of music when I go to look a word up - it’s something I love to do - and so I’m particularly excited to be sharing these findings with you all.

Da Capo [It., abbr. D.C.]. From the beginning, and hence an indication that a piece is to be repeated from the beginning to the end, to a place marked fine (da capo al fine), or to a place marked with a specified sign (e.g., da capo al segno, or al coda). On reaching the sign in the last case, the player is to skip ahead to the next occurrence of the coda sign, often marking the beginning of a coda.