Historic manuscript of Pachelbel’s Canon, held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

Canon in D

Johann Pachelbel

Key: D majorNo capo4/4

Standard tuning

D: low to high muted, muted, 0, 2, 3, 2ID××A: low to high muted, 0, 2, 2, 2, 0VA×Bm: low to high muted, 2, 4, 4, 3, 2viBm×F#m: low to high 2, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2iiiF#mG: low to high 3, 2, 0, 0, 0, 3IVG

Two ground cycles · each note lasts two beats; melody one octave below the violin.

Two ground cycles · each note lasts two beats; melody one octave below the violin.eBGDAE201234321234021234021234Two ground cycles · each note lasts two beats; melody one octave below the violin.eBGDAE321234021234041234021234

Ground cycleRepeating cycle

Fingerpick. Two beats per chord; the opening voice spans this cycle twice.

4 bars
Progression bars 1–4IDVAviBmiiiF#mIVGIDIVGVA1234123412341234

Ground bass

One complete 4-bar cycle · two beats per note; second D raised an octave for standard tuning.eBGDAE001234221234301234301234

Broken chords · optional

Authored accompaniment · bass–G–B–G for each two-beat chord; keep the melody louder.eBGDAE023202221&2&3&4&243422221&2&3&4&300002321&2&3&4&300002221&2&3&4&

Additional tips

D major D E F# G A B C#. Follow the eight bass changes; aim for F# over D, C# over A, D over Bm, A over F#m and B over G.

Two phrases, one ground The opening melody lasts eight bars here; the bass repeats every four. Keep their first beats aligned. The last melody note E leads back to F#; avoid an extra pause at the join.

Shape a second voice Try D-major pentatonic: D E F# A B. Add C# over A and G over G. Move mostly by step, leaving space around the descending opening; these are improvisation suggestions.

Touch & tempo Choose a relaxed pulse. The quarter-note source is written at twice its note lengths here: two beats per bass change. Let treble notes sing; mute a bass only as the next arrives.