Elaine, I use repeat barlines at the start of each part because
bagpipe tunes always have them at the start and end of each part, and
repeat volta only places them at the end.
The easy way to get an initial repeat barline (an approach I prefer, too) is to use a barline that is defined to print at the start of lines, such as the one with flags.
\version "2.19.15"
{
\time 2/4
\bar "[|:"
\repeat volta 2 {
\partial 8 e8
a16. a32 a16. b32 b32 a16. b32 d16.
e16. a32 a32 a16. b16. e32 e32 g16.
a4 a8
} \bar ":|][|:"
\repeat volta 2 {
g8 2 4.
} \bar ":|]"
}
If you don't
want the flags on the repeats, then the next easiest approach is to
define another repeat barline that does print at the start.
\version "2.19.15"
\defineBarLine ".|:-dangerouslyCloseToAnEmoji" #'("||" ".|:" ".|:")
{
\time 2/4
\bar ".|:-dangerouslyCloseToAnEmoji"
\repeat volta 2 {
\partial 8 e8
a16. a32 a16. b32 b32 a16. b32 d16.
e16. a32 a32 a16. b16. e32 e32 g16.
a4 a8
}
\repeat volta 2 {
g8 2 4.
}
}