Piano songs · Beginner to intermediate
Canon in D on piano
Pachelbel's Canon is built on eight bass notes that repeat over and over, and once your left hand knows them, you can play the whole piece on top. Here's the bass and the first melody, as it begins.
The tune in letter names, lit as it plays. Right hand in peach, left hand in lilac. Turn off "Both hands" to hear the tune alone.
About the piece
Johann Pachelbel wrote the Canon and Gigue in D for three violins and basso continuo, probably between 1680 and 1706. It was almost forgotten until a 1968 recording by Jean-François Paillard made it famous; now it's a favourite at weddings. The bass line repeats 28 times.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: F♯ E D C♯ B; A B C♯ D C♯; B A G F♯ G; E. Longer boxes are longer notes. Press Play and follow along, then slow it down with the speed slider and play with it.
How to learn it
- Learn the bass first: D, A, B, F♯, G, D, G, A. Play it until you could do it in your sleep: everything else sits on it.
- Then the first melody walks down the scale, F♯ to A, and back up to C♯, one note per bass note.
- Then the second: D down to F♯, then G and E. Each new melody fits the same eight bass notes.
- Keep it calm: it's slow and even; don't hurry the bass.
Learning Canon in D? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that runs away. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
What are the bass notes of Canon in D?
D, A, B, F♯, G, D, G, A, repeated throughout the piece.
Is Canon in D easy on piano?
The opening is approachable for beginners: the bass is eight notes and the first melodies are one note per beat. Later variations get busier.
More songs to play
A simple arrangement of a public-domain melody. Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, CC BY 3.0.