Last time

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff over a bracket, a bar or a closing section to be played only on the final pass of a repeat, alongside first-time and second-time brackets or a foreign-language equivalent (pour finir). Earlier passes skip it.

How Composers Use It

A road sign for repeats and strophic forms: it tells performers which ending or added material belongs to the final time through. Use it when the number of repeats varies — verses, dance tunes — so that numbered endings would be awkward. Make the jump clear by marking where the performer comes from (a sign or coda symbol), and avoid mixing it with numbered endings for the same repeat.

Example

Satie, Tendrement, voice, m. 41: “last time”, printed with the French “Pour finir /”, three bars after “au 2e Couplet” and “aller au signe”.

Related Terms