Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Please help! (Read 3003 times) previous topic - next topic

Please help!

Somebody please help me! I'm in 7th grade top band and when playing some songs, it has DS al Coda. I keep forgetting to ask the director and can't find what it means ANYWHERE!!! I was promoted the second week of school and they had already gone over the music. :-( Help, please!

Re: Please help!

Reply #1 –
D.S. al Coda is an abbreviation of the Italian phrase "dal segno al coda", which means "from the sign to the tail".

If you'll look back in your part you'll see, somewhere, a symbol that looks like a big S with a slash through it and probably some dots as well. This is the "Segno", or sign. When you see "D.S.", this is an instruction to go back to the Segno and start playing from there. At some point you'll encounter the phrase "al Coda", which means that you jump to the place (generally near the end) marked "Coda" and continue playing from that point until the end.

I hope this helps.

Re: Please help!

Reply #2 –
congratulations for the promotion!

Re: Please help!

Reply #3 –
It just doesn't seem fair that they expect 7th graders to know Italian!

Re: Please help!

Reply #4 –
Grant's message mentioned playing until you come to the expression "al coda."

I think it's more common to find the coda sign, a circle with a cross on it. We sometimes call it a "gunsight."

Re: Please help!

Reply #5 –
Art, I was under the impression that in Italy, the seventh graders know Italian.