Musical Symbol Repeat Dots

They mark the edge of a passage that gets played again. In a score, dots beside a double barline on the right open a start repeat; on the left, they close an end repeat.

When there is no matching opening mark, the performer returns to the beginning. The dots mark the route, not the number of times to play.

Why mark a repeat instead of writing the music twice?

A repeat sign saves space by sending the player back. A composer can write a section once and mark where to play it again.

A Renaissance dance collection by Tielman Susato, Danserye, published in 1551, shows repeat signs. Before barlines became standard, written music did not mark measures with them consistently. The shape-note tradition, a style of singing that uses shaped noteheads to guide singers, also uses four-dot repeat signs. Two dots are typical in common staff notation, but the count varies by tradition.

Is 𝄈 a complete repeat sign?

No; 𝄈 alone is only the dot pair. In printed notation, a full repeat sign combines the dots with a double barline; their side gives its direction.