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1.4 Repeats

Repetition is a central concept in music, and multiple notations exist for repetitions. LilyPond supports the following kinds of repeats:

volta

This is the standard notation for repeats with or without alternative endings. The repeated section is framed between repeat bar lines, but the starting bar line is omitted when the repeated section begins the piece. Alternative endings are printed in sequence, bracketed, and numbered with the volte to which they apply.

segno

This supports various da capo and dal segno cases. The repeated section begins with a segno mark, except at the start of the piece. Alternative endings are printed in sequence and marked with coda marks, and a section label such as ‘Coda’ can optionally be applied to the final alternative. The repeated section ends with an instruction such as D.S.

unfold

The repeated music is written out in full a specified number of times.

percent

These are beat or measure repeats. They look like single slashes or percent signs.

tremolo

This is used to write tremolo beams.

Chord constructs can be repeated using the chord repetition symbol, q. See Chord repetition.

1.4.1 Long repeats
1.4.2 Short repeats