Codetta

Codetta is the diminutive of coda — a ‘little tail’ or small concluding passage. It refers to a brief closing section, smaller than a full coda, often used to round off a phrase, theme, or section within a larger movement.

The codetta is most commonly associated with sonata form. It appears at the end of the exposition, providing a brief closing gesture before the development begins. The codetta typically reinforces the secondary key area and rounds off the second theme group with a brief flourish.

The term is also used more generally for any small concluding gesture — the brief tag at the end of a phrase, the closing flourish of a section, a short tutti passage that wraps up a chorus. Mozart and Haydn use codettas constantly in their classical-era forms.

Italian, diminutive of coda (‘tail’). The -etta suffix makes it ‘little tail’.

Treat the codetta as a closing gesture, not a new section. It should feel like the natural close of what came before, not a fresh start.