Music library › Classical themes
Johann Pachelbel, late 17th century. Complete melody, written out for reading practice.
Pachelbel’s Canon is built on a bass line of eight notes that repeats, unchanged, 28 times while three violins play a canon above it. It was written in the late 1600s and then largely forgotten, until a 1968 recording turned it into one of the most played pieces of classical music, especially at weddings.
The bass line alone is excellent bass clef practice: long, slow half notes that leap between the lines and spaces of the lower staff. It is shown here twice through, in D major.
Read the piece through once without playing, naming the starting note and looking for patterns and repeats. Then press Play and follow the notes as they light up. When you are ready, choose Practice this piece: it opens in the practice tool, where you can slow it down, play along on the on-screen piano, a MIDI keyboard or your voice, and have every note checked.