Repeats, endings, and navigation
Barlines
| is a plain barline, || a double barline, and ||| a final barline. Keep the pipes touching. Spaced | | includes an empty bar between two barlines.
4C5 D E F || 1G |||
Original canonical spelling
4C5 D E F || 1G |||
Repeated sections
|: opens a repeat; :| closes it. The repeat sign already includes its double-bar geometry. Do not add another double bar beside it. The checker reports redundant pipes and the formatter removes them. :|: closes one repeat where the next begins. At the end of a collection, its opening side belongs to the next numbered bar of that same part or voice. It does not add a silent bar. If no following bar exists, remove the opening side or write that bar.
|: 4C5 D E F | 1G :|
Original canonical spelling
|: 4C5 D E F | 1G :|
Repeat or borrow a measure
A measure containing only && repeats the preceding bar and prints a simile sign. &&! repeats it with the notes written out. &&4 repeats four bars. These forms must occupy a bar on their own and need earlier music to borrow.
4C5 D E F | && | &&! | &&2
Original example notes (1)
- measure 2 repeats m2 written out; the painter draws its borrowed notes
Original canonical spelling
4C5 D E F | && | &&! | &&2
% borrows the preceding bar as written-out notes. %m1 borrows the addressed earlier measure. Write it inside the destination collection, for example m2 { %m1 }. Named range assignments reuse longer passages. The borrowed rhythm must fit the destination meter.
m1 {
4C5 D E F
}
m2 {
m2 { %m1 }
}
Original example notes (1)
- measure 1 repeats m1 written out; the painter draws its borrowed notes
Original canonical spelling
m1 {
4C5 D E F
}
m2 {
m2 { %m1 }
}
First and second endings
[1..] opens a first ending and [2..] the second. [1,2..] names several passes. The closing repeat closes the first ending. A final ending can close at an explicit double or final barline; without one it follows the length of the ending it parallels. An ending opener written after a bar's last note belongs to the following bar, including when the row wraps there.
4C5 D E F | [1..] 1G :| [2..] C, |||
Original canonical spelling
4C5 D E F | [1..] 1G :| [2..] C, |||
Navigation words
Use bracketed musical instructions: [segno], [coda], [to coda], [fine], [D.C.], [D.C. al Fine], or [D.S. al Coda]. Navigation is case-insensitive and periods are optional: [DC], [dc], and [D.C.] all mean da capo; [DS], [ds], and [D.S.] mean dal segno. A deliberately named boxed label is [[DC]], not a jump; prefer actual measure-number rehearsal maps such as RH {m5, m9, m13} for ordinary landmarks.
[segno] 4C5 D E F | 1G [fine]
Original canonical spelling
[segno] 4C5 D E F | 1G [fine]
Printed navigation and a playback itinerary are separate acceptance checks. Inspect and listen to the finished work; do not assume that a renderer showing an instruction proves every player follows its return path.
Playback visits and practice tempo
The native position clock supports an explicit written-navigation traversal for repeats, endings, D.C., D.S., Fine and Coda. The default performance is straight through. Each visit keeps the original written bar and event addresses, including when a uniform practice tempo is applied. Applications choose a traversal and use its occurrence table; a displayed repeat sign alone does not establish what a player will do.
A repeated position needs an occurrence selector. Ambiguous temporal spans across jumps and enabled expressive navigation are refused. The website does not yet expose every native practice option. See Practice and rhythm tools for musical workflows and limits.