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How do I Mark Repeats for AAB AAB Structure

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I'm using Sibelius (the notation program) to chart a piece with an AAB AAB structure. I put a repeat bar line at the beginning and end of the "A" section and one only at the end of the "B" section.

When Sibelius plays it back, it repeats the "A" section once and goes on to the "B" section then back to the beginning of the "A" section but does not repeat the "A" - goes right to the "B" so the structure ends up being AAB AB.

I went to music school but I must have missed the day they talked about all those D.C. Al Capo indications - what would be the right phrase to indicate the structure I want? Even if I can't Sibelius to play it back with the right structure, I want the live musicians to understand my intentions.

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

I think the problem here is that it is customary performance practice to not play any marked repeats after a Da capo. At the end of the B section you could put "D.C. con ripetizione" which translates as "From the head with repetition". This should give you your AAB AAB structure. I'm not sure if Sibelius recognises this one for playback purposes though but a real world musician should be able to interpret it correctly.

Why not just write the whole thing out again? ... sacrificing readability to save paper is a bad idea...

That said, a D.C. will do the trick....just use some plain English "play repeats on D.C." to ensure your get your AABAAB....

  • Author

As a player, I wouldn't know what ripetizione was right away (though it's pretty obvious if you already know), so I think I'll go with robinjessome's suggestion. After all, with copy/paste, it's easy anyway. Thanks to both of you for your suggestions.

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