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Bar repeats indicate that the musical material in preceding bars must be repeated exactly, but

without notating that material again. Bar repeats can comprise groups of one, two, or four bars.

For example, a one-bar repeat indicates that the material in one bar is repeated, meaning every

bar in the region repeats the same material. A four-bar repeat indicates that the material in the

previous four bars is repeated.

One-bar repeat region Two-bar repeat region

Four-bar repeat region

This notational short-hand can make repetitive music easier to read, as performers must only

read the repeated phrase once and then simply count how many times they repeat it. Bar

repeats can also save horizontal space, as bar repeat symbols are usually narrower than the

equivalent fully written-out bars.

In Dorico Elements, bar repeat regions are used to display bar repeats, meaning as many bar

repeat symbols as necessary to ll the region are shown automatically.

By default, bar repeat regions are highlighted with a colored background, as this makes them

easier to see. As you zoom out, the highlights become more opaque, which is especially useful

when viewing full score layouts in galley view. These highlights are not printed, and you can hide

and show them at any time.

You can also show adjacent bar repeat regions, for example, if you want to use a 2-bar repeat in

the rst iteration of a phrase, and then a four-bar repeat to indicate the whole phrase is

repeated. When two different bar repeat regions are adjacent, they alternate highlight colors to

ensure the separate regions are always identiable.

Phrase containing two adjacent bar repeat regions