Beginning and End Signpost Pairs

Beginning and end signposts are generally placed in the chordmap in matching pairs. The reason is that they are really the same signpost; the end of one chord path is the first chord of the next. By placing a certain chord at the end of a path, you specify that the path leads into a new path beginning with that chord. If an end signpost has no matching beginning signpost, no new path can be found after the end signpost is reached. If a beginning signpost has no matching end signpost, no path will ever lead to it.

For more information on the properties two chords must share to be considered matching signposts, see Maintaining Chord Consistency.

The following figure shows how end signposts point to matching beginning signposts.

In the previous figure, if a path leading from the 2CM beginning signpost to the 2GM signpost were used to compose the first five measures, the next path selected would begin with the 2GM beginning signpost. If that path then proceeded through 2Ab7 or 2Gb7 to 2FM, the chord placed at the next group marker would be 2FM. Because no paths lead from 2FM, that chord would play until the next marker was reached.