You can use semicolons to connect two independent clauses (can stand alone as a complete sentence)

Example: This could side of the semicolon is an example of a complete sentence; this side of the semicolon represents another one

Most of the time you will use a semicolon where you would use a period. If you would have used a comma in the example sentence, using it would be considered a “comma splice.”

Semicolons are also used to separate the items in a list or series when there are other punctuation marks within the items themselves.

Example:

When you think about how an orchestra is organized, notice the strings, the violin, the viola, and the cello; the woodwinds, the clarinet and the oboe; and the horns, the trombone, the French horn, and the trumpet.