Re: segno (and so ...)

[Simon G. P. Bailey]

hi joerg,

On Mon, 2003-03-31 at 12:32, Joerg Anders wrote:
> Perhaps somebody could give a short answer to 6 questions:
> 
> 1.) Is the sequence:
> 
>       notes1  segno  notes2 dal segno notes3
> 
>    the same as:
> 
>        notes1  ||: notes2 :||  notes3
> 
>    So, this form is actually superfluous.(?)

i've seen this form in orchestral waltzes. normally part 3 is then
marked as "Coda". depends on the conductor how it is then played... in
theory it is a normal volta repeat, depends on the style of the music
and if the coda should be optional. *my personal interpretation*

> 2.) Is the sequence:
> 
>        notes1  segno notes2 fine notes3 dal segno al fine
> 
>     the same as:
> 
>       notes1 notes2 notes3 notes2

yes. in this case, you can either mark the fine with a \bar"|." or with
a \bar"||" -- the first option is the clearer.

> 3.) I read somewhere: If there's "dal segno al fine"
>     but no word "fine" written the music ends at
>     next fermata (if any). Is it correct?

again, this depends on the interpretation. orchestral waltzes often just
have a d.s. at the end of one of the parts. either the first fermata or
the first double bar (this may also be the d.s. mark itself!).

> 4.) Does the segno always appear left to the dal segno. Or
>     must I take into account the following:
> 
>       notes1 dal segno notes2 segno notes3
> 
>    This implies: notes2 are never played (?)

i've never seen this construct before. what i have seen is double segnos
and codas:

notes1 segno-segno notes2 segno notes3 coda-coda notes4 coda notes5
"D.S. al codaI"
codaI: notesA "D.S.S. al codaII"
codaII: notesB \bar "|."


> 5.) I remember vaguely there exists a further variant with coda.
>     dal sengno al fine et code (or so...). What is the
>     exact name and meaning ?

see previous example. "D.S. al fine" or "D.S. al coda". 

I: notes1 segno notes2 fine notes3 (d.s. als fine)
II: notes1 segno notes2 coda notes3 coda: notesA (d.s. al coda)
 
> 6.) Is it correct that "dal segno" never appears unabbreviated ?
>     Thus, "D.S." is always written instead? If so: What's
>     the abbrivation of "dal segno al fine" ?

it appears in many ways. D.S. al fine, D.S. al coda, Dal Segno al Fine,
...

the typesetting of fine varies. sometimes small caps, sometimes all
caps, sometimes italic normal script, roman normal, ... i prefer
\textbf{\Large{Fine}}

other ways of writing D.S. also include using the symbols:
#'(columns (music "scripts-segno")
        ((raise (-0.5 . 0) "---")) (music "scripts-coda"))

"D.S. al coda" can be written either with text "coda" or with the
symbol:

#'(columns ((raise (-0.5 . 0) "D.S. al ")) (music "scripts-coda"))

The coda symbol itself in the music is always typeset with the symbol,
the corresponding section of music is often marked with the text "coda"
and the symbol, or just the text (the music itself is normally separated
from the original piece and indented).

all of these forms also exist for the corresponding form D.C. (Da Capo
al <insert favourite ending form here>)

> I know many questions. Perhaps somebody could give an explanation
> of the most common forms (I'm convinced there are a lot 
> of special forms and exceptions) Or a link to some WWW site.(?)

a helpful link (which does not cover this topic in great detail) but
goes into a lot of music theory is:

www.dolmetsch.com/theoryintro.htm (section 24 covers repeats).

there are many different ways of typesetting D.[C|S]. al [Fine|Coda].
the easiest way is to just grab your favourite one and stick with it.

i box my segnos and coda jumps, and mark the coda with the symbol and
the text Coda. The jump statement i set large italic -- normally under
the last measure. that is a fairly common form and should satisfy most
people. :))

hope this helps, regards,
simon.
-- 
I have a very strange feeling about this...
                -- Luke Skywalker