Editing Da capo (section)

{{short description|Musical term meaning "from the beginning"}}
{{wiktionary|da capo|d.c. al coda|D.C. al fine|fine}}
{{About|the music term|other uses}}
[[Image:Da Capo al fine example short.png|thumb|A contrived example of D.C. al Fine. {{audio|Da Capo al fine example short.mid|Play}} Use of Da Capo prevents the need to write out extra measures, often many more than in this example. The notes are played as: G A B B C, G A B C, low-C|340x340px]]

'''Da capo''' ({{IPAc-en|d|ɑː|_|ˈ|k|ɑː|p|oʊ}} {{respell|dah|_|KAH|poh}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|d|ə|_|-}} {{respell|də|_-}}, {{IPA|it|da (k)ˈkaːpo|lang}}; often abbreviated as '''D.C.''') is an [[Italian language|Italian]] [[musical term]] that means "from the beginning"<ref>Randel, Don Michael; ed. (2003). ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'', p. 234. Harvard. {{ISBN|9780674011632}}.</ref> (literally, "from the head"). The term is a directive to [[repetition (music)|repeat]] the previous part of music, often used to save space, and thus is an easier way of saying to repeat the music from the beginning.

In small pieces, this might be the same thing as a [[Repeat sign|repeat]]. But in larger works, D.C. might occur after one or more repeats of small [[section (music)|sections]], indicating a return to the very beginning. The resulting [[musical form|structure]] of the piece is generally in [[ternary form]]. Sometimes, the composer describes the part to be repeated, for example: ''Menuet da capo''.{{Explanation needed|date=January 2018}} In [[opera]], where an [[aria]] of this structure is called a ''[[da capo aria]]'', the repeated section is often adorned with [[grace note]]s.

The word ''Fine'' (Ital. 'end') is generally placed above the stave at the point where the movement ceases after a 'Da capo' repetition. Its place is occasionally taken by a pause (see [[fermata]])."<ref>Grove, George; Fuller-Maitland, John Alexander; Pratt, Waldo Selden; and Boyd, Charles Newell; eds. (1906). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6eS2AAAAIAAJ&q=%22da+capo%22&pg=PA116 Grove's dictionary of music and musicians]'', p. 42. Macmillan. {{pre-ISBN}}.</ref>