Which marking instructs the performer to jump to the coda from the current point?

• A. D.S. al Coda
• B. Da Capo
• C. Coda
• D. Dal Segno

Answer: (A)

Navigating repeats and codas is about knowing how to move through the score at the right moments. Dal Segno al Coda is the marking that directs you to go back to the segno sign and then move forward to the coda when instructed. In practice, you play up to the Dal Segno sign, return to that sign, and continue until you reach the cue that tells you to go to the coda (often a To Coda instruction or the Coda symbol), at which point you jump to the coda section. That combination of returning to a sign and then skipping ahead to the coda is what makes this marking the one that causes a jump to the coda from the current point. Da Capo sends you to the very start, the Coda symbol by itself isn’t a jump without a To Coda cue, and Dal Segno alone only returns you to the sign without directing a jump to the coda.