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Time (in the sense of occurrence). Prima volta = first time. Seconda volta = second time. Used with repeat brackets to indicate different endings.
First and second volta brackets (1. and 2.) provide different endings on successive passes through repeated material. The first ending leads back to the repeat sign; the second ending continues forward. Use them to vary the final bars of a repeated section without rewriting everything.
Standard in virtually all repeated sections — the first volta typically ends on an open cadence, the second on a closed one.
Volta is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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