What is "dal segno"

Dal segno \Dal` se"gno\ [It., from the sign.] (Mus.) A direction to go back to the sign ? and repeat from thence to the close. See Segno.

adv. (context music English) From the last segno.

In music notation, Dal segno ( or ; ), often abbreviated D.S., is used as a navigation marker. From Italian for "from the sign," D.S. appears in sheet music and instructs a musician to repeat a passage starting from the sign shown at right, sometimes called the "segno" in English.

Two common variants:

• D.S. al coda instructs the musician to go back to the sign, and when Al coda or To coda is reached jump to the coda symbol.
• D.S. al fine instructs the musician to go back to the sign, and end the piece at the measure marked fine.

Al segno indicates that the player should go to the sign.

In operas of the 18th century, da segno arias were a common alternative to da capo arias which began with an opening ritornello, which was then omitted in the repeat (the sign being placed after the ritornello).