Why Do First and Second Endings Still Go Wrong after the Repeat Is Learnt?

First and second endings are not merely two ordinary groups of bars. The repeat sign sends the player into the first ending and then back to the beginning of the repeated section. On reaching the same place a second time, the player must bypass that ending and continue into the second. One visual location in the score has become a branch whose route depends on which pass is under way.

Adult learners often repeat the shared section many times but casually practise only one exit. During a continuous performance, the familiar action chain can carry the hands into the first ending. By the time the eyes register the second ending, the decision is already late. The symbol may be understood perfectly; what is missing is a memory for ‘what follows on this pass’, rather than only ‘what follows this phrase’.

The useful practice unit must cross the branch point. For the first ending, begin a bar before it, play through it and continue into the opening bar after the repeat. For the second, enter from that same preceding bar but continue through the second ending and into the new phrase beyond it. Each route needs both an approach and an exit. Then play the whole form and check that the first return and second continuation are prompted by the musical structure, without pausing to count repetitions.

This error shows that fluency is not only correct notes. It also means knowing which path the music is currently taking. The shared passage can be shared in memory; its two turns must be built separately.

https://viva.pressbooks.pub/openmusictheory/chapter/other-aspects-of-notation/

When using <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scoreflow/id6796205656">ScoreFlow</a&gt; for this kind of passage, make the short connections around the branch the focus of the session and check both routes rather than only repeating their shared material.