Canon D Dur Pachelbel Piano

[Antonio Brittenham]

Thisis what creates the canon aspect of the piece: when the same melody is repeated shortly after it is played by another instrument while remaining layered on top of each other. If done right, as in Canon in D, this sounds absolutely stunning!

We could simply learn all of these melodies note for note on the piano and then try to limit ourselves to creating that feeling and texture in the same exact way as Pachelbel. However instead, you can create the same idea and feeling in a much more easy and unique way by selecting a few favorite melodies and using musical techniques and patterns to create new layers, texture, and development as you go.

That formula is especially useful on a solo instrument such as the piano, where it may be difficult to continue a true canon through each new melody. As a piano performer at weddings, sometimes this is required since I often have no idea how long it will take exactly for the wedding party to walk down the aisle. It usually requires improvising to make it work just right.

You will probably notice that as the note values get faster and faster, the energy also increases. Since each of these melodies seems to contain one primary note value, we can think of it as a pulse. The first contains a half note pulse, the second a quarter note pulse, and the third a 16th note pulse. As the pulse speed increases, so does the energy.

There are many ways to add embellishments to a melody. One of the easiest and most common is to simply add harmony! To do that you can simply add more notes of the current chord underneath the melody in some way.

To do this, you can repeat the chord progression as many times as you like using each melody as you please. However, on each repeat think of simple ways you can change and develop the music. Think of ways you can take the energy level up or down.

I encourage you to play through each example and really get a sense of it internally. Afterward, try to make it your own by mixing and matching different patterns, altering them, or even adding new ones in the right or left hand.

If you want a much deeper dive into Canon in D and learn many more beautiful possibilities for both the right and left hand to take your playing to a new level, as well as accompaniment and improvisational techniques for Canon in D, then check out our full course Pachelbel Canon in D (Beginner/Intermediate, Intermediate/Advanced).

Courses are comprised of lessons and are based on selected styles of music and learning focus topics. PWJ offers regular courses, workshops which include teacher interaction, and challenges which are divided into a 4 week learning format.

Smartsheets use the Soundslice sheet music player to give students digital access to all arrangements and lesson sheet music. Smartsheets provide audio playback, light-up key notation, transposition, looping, and other learning tools.

I have produced an arrangement of the Canon in D for piano which you can download/print off and have also put together a brief analysis of the work to help inform your learning and performance of the piece.

I have kept this arrangement of the canon in D major for piano quite simple so that piano players of varying levels of ability can all enjoy learning it. I have scored it with the opening bass notes played as half notes (minims) as this makes it easier for piano players to read the later rhythms. Note that the original version notates the opening notes as quarter notes (crotchets).

The opening bars are simple, but as the piece progresses to increasingly complex sixteenth notes (semiquaver patterns) it becomes quite challenging and will be a satisfying task for more experiences players to tackle.

It is impossible to transcribe this aspect of the Canon in D major onto a piano arrangement without making the piece extremely difficult and so I have simply taken one line of melody for most of the right hand part. You could achieve the canon of the 3 violins to varying degrees of success in an organ arrangement as the pedals would play the bass part leaving 2 hands free to play the other parts.

There are literally hundreds of different performances and arrangements of the Canon in D that you will be able to find to have a look/listen to.

Here are just a couple of examples to inspire you.

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