Da Capo is a musical term in Italian, meaning
from the beginning. It is a composer's directive to repeat the previous part of music. An additional indication for the same directive is a double colon at the end of the part. Sometimes the composer describes the part to be repeated, for example:
Menuet da capo. In opera the repeated piece is often adorned with grace notes.
Variations of the directon are:
- Da Capo al fine (D.C. al fine): repeat (the entire piece of music) from beginning to the end, and
- Da Capo al segno (D.C. al segno): repeat from beginning to the (D.C.) sign.