Coda (music)

In music, a coda (pronounced [ˈkoːda]; Italian for 'tail'; plural code) is a passage that brings a piece (or a movement) to an end. It may be as simple as a few measures, or as complex as an entire section.^[1]

History[edit]

Cauda, a Latin word meaning "tail", "edge" or "trail" is the root of coda and is used in the study of conductus of the 12th and 13th centuries. The cauda was a long melisma on one of the last syllables of the text, repeated in each strophe. Conducti were traditionally divided into two groups, conductus cum cauda and conductus sine cauda (Latin: "conductus with cauda", "conductus without cauda"), based on the presence of the melisma. Thus, the cauda provided a conclusionary role, similar to the modern coda.

In popular music[edit]

Many songs in rock and other genres of popular music have sections identifiable as codas. A coda in these genres is sometimes referred to as an "outro", while in jazz, modern church music and barbershop arranging it is commonly called a "tag". One of the most famous codas is found in the 1968 single "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. The coda lasted nearly four minutes, making the song's full length at just over the seven-minute mark.

Coda (ballet)

Da capo

Epilogue

Fade (audio engineering)

Repeat sign

Transition (music)

, ed. (1911). "Coda" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 632.