There’s More to Playing the Piano

---

Chapter 5 - Bars and Bar Lines

Music is divided into bars which usually comprise two, three or four beats. Each of these bars is separated by a bar line.

The first beat of each bar is usually played slightly more loudly than the subsequent beats and is called the downbeat. The last beat of each bar is known as the upbeat. These terms refer to conductors’ gestures.

If there is a fragment of melody before the first bar line, it is known as an anacrusis. An anacrusis can be longer or shorter than the upbeat.

At the end of a section of music, you may find a double bar line. At the end of a piece you will find a final bar line.

The two symbols below are known as repeat marks. The section of music that is printed between the two repeat marks should be repeated.

Sometimes the first repeat mark is omitted; in this case, repeat from the start of the piece.

A repeated section of music may end with bracketed passages that are labelled as 1. and 2. These are known as first-time bars and second-time bars. We tend to call them this even if the passages are several bars long.

The instruction DC is an abbreviation of Da Capo. It means that you should repeat from the beginning of the piece until there is a further written instruction.

The instruction DS is an abbreviation of Dal Segno. It means that you should repeat from the sign .

There will then follow an instruction fine or al coda. Fine means that you have now reached the end of the piece. Al coda means that you should go to the coda (ending). This sign will be printed alongside the al coda instruction and will also be printed at the start of the coda.

This symbol means that you should repeat the previous bar. It is used a lot in pop, jazz and stage music.

You may occasionally see the instruction “vamp till ready” or “repeat ad lib”. This is common in music written for the theatre. It means that you should repeat the passage indefinitely while you wait for a cue from the stage or from the conductor.

At the piano Find a short piece that you know well (perhaps 16 bars long). Repeat it several times, changing the dynamic, the articulation, maybe even the texture.