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Canon in D — melody and ground bass

Hear Pachelbel’s famous ground bass underneath building melodic variations in C major, followed by a closing cadence.

DevelopingJohann Pachelbel · 16-bar melody and ground bass in C major · piano both handsPiano · Both hands · C major · 4/4

68 beats per minute. Changing speed stops playback; press Play to start again.

Composed by Johann Pachelbel (c. 1680); source edition by Mutopia Project. Public domain composition and source edition. Teaching arrangement by NotePlayMusic. · www.noteplaymusic.com

Try it at the keyboard

  1. Learn the left-hand ground bass pattern first (C–G–A–E–F–C–F–G); it repeats three times before a varied final cycle.
  2. In bars 1–4 and 13–15, both hands move together every two beats; the final bass note lasts four beats.
  3. In bars 5–12, the right hand plays two crotchets against each left-hand minim.

About this score

C-major teaching variations on the Canon progression, with three ground-bass cycles and a varied closing cycle. The connecting variations and final cadence are NotePlayMusic adaptations, not a complete transcription.

Composed by Johann Pachelbel (c. 1680); source edition by Mutopia Project. Public domain composition and source edition. Teaching arrangement by NotePlayMusic.

Source notation · Source score & rights notice