← Notation reference
Notation category
Form and sustain
Learn the directions that extend resonance, suspend time, and send the performer back through repeated sections.
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From Ah, Love, but a Day!, Op. 44 No. 2 (piano part) by Amy Beach, source measure 5. Ped., an asterisk, or a bracketed pedal line
Pedal
Use the damper pedal to sustain and connect resonance beyond the fingers.
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From Prelude No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 847 by J.S. Bach, source measure 38. an arch over a dot
Fermata
Hold the note or silence beyond its written value at a musically judged length.
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From Minuet in G Major by J.S. Bach (attrib.; BWV Anh. 114, likely Christian Petzold), source measure 16. a thick-thin barline with two dots
Repeat signs
Return to the matching repeat boundary and play the enclosed section again.
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From Air on the G String by J.S. Bach, source measure 12. numbered brackets such as 1. and 2. above the staff
Volta endings
Use different ending measures on successive passes through a repeated section.
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