double bar

IPA/ˌdʌbl ˈbɑː(r)/
IPA/ˌdʌbl ˈbɑːr/

double bar — noun

1. a pair of upright lines drawn across a staff to mark where one large part in a m

1.nounC1
Definition

a pair of upright lines drawn across a staff to mark where one large part in a musical score comes to a stop

Example

Putri drew a double bar to show where the first movement ended.

draw a double bar to mark a section end

The teacher told the class to stop playing at the double bar.

stop at the double bar

Common collocations
  • draw a double bar
  • at the double bar
  • after the double bar
  • a final double bar
Synonyms
  • double barline

    the same mark, written as one word and common in printed music guides

  • section divider

    a plain description rather than the exact music term

Antonyms
  • bar line

    a single line that only separates one measure from the next, not a whole section

Grammar Patterns

a double bar

the double bar at the end

draw a double bar

Usage Note

Refers to the printed mark on the page, not to a sound. A single bar line separates measures, while a double bar marks the edge of a larger part of the piece.

Common Mistakes

We held the double bar for four beats.
We held the last note for four beats before the double bar.
a double bar is a written mark, not a note you can hold.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

In written music, a bar line is a single upright line that separates one measure from the next, so a player sees many of them across a page. A double bar uses two close upright lines to mark the edge of a larger part, such as the end of a verse or a movement, telling the reader that one big section has finished. A final bar line goes further: it pairs a thin line with a thicker one to show that the whole piece is over, not just a section. So if a student asks which mark to read, the answer depends on scale: bar line for each measure, double bar for a major section break, and final bar line for the very end of the music.

double bar ↗bar line ↗final bar line

Etymology

Old FrenchEnglish

The phrase joins double, meaning two of something, with bar, the music word for a measure and the upright line that closes it. Bar came into English from Old French barre, a word for a rod or pole laid across a space. In music the line laid across the staff took the same name, and two of them side by side became the double bar.

First known use

1662

1662, in the meaning defined above