We're wrapping up our two-part series on Johann Pachelbel today, and we're ending on the piece you've probably heard a hundred times without knowing his name. If you've been to a wedding in the last fifty years, chances are the Canon in D was playing while someone walked down an aisle.
What even is a "canon"?
Before we get into Pachelbel's specific piece, I want to back up and talk about what a musical canon actually is (no, not the cannon that shoots things, though I'll admit I made that joke to my kids once and got exactly the eye roll I deserved). A canon is a compositional trick where one melody chases itself, with different voices or instruments coming in one after another, playing the same tune slightly offset. Think "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," but Baroque and a lot more elegant. Once you know what you're listening for, you'll hear it everywhere in this piece.
Written in the 1600s, famous in the 1970s
Here's the part I find actually funny: Pachelbel wrote this thing in the late 1600s, and it basically disappeared for centuries. It wasn't until the 1970s that it got rediscovered and suddenly showed up in weddings, commercials, and movies, and it's never really left since. We'll talk about how a 300-year-old piece of music becomes a modern cultural moment, because that's a strange and kind of wonderful thing to think about.
Listen along
I've put together a listening schedule with a few different recordings and arrangements of the Canon so you can hear how differently it can be played depending on who's performing it. You'll find that linked in the show notes at busykidsdopiano.com/podcast/104.
A little more than the notes
As always, we're not just listening, we're learning the story behind the music: why this piece mattered in Pachelbel's time, how it found its way back into ours, and why it still gets requested at weddings decade after decade.
Thanks for sticking with me through this two-part Pachelbel series. I hope it gave you a little more appreciation for a composer most of us know without realizing we know him.
Happy listening, Carly
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Membership info for Busy Kids Do Piano
Membership info for Busy Moms Do Piano
Musical Samples You'll Hear in this Episode:
Pachelbel - Canon - Stringspace String Quartet
Row, Row, Row Your Boat (Round)
Wedding String Quartet - Canon in D (Best Version) (Johann Pachelbel)
Music Listening Schedule for Episode 104
Check out this episode's playlist to hear a few different interpretations of Pachelbel's famous piece.
Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcasts
Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you're not, head on over to do that today so you don't miss an episode. Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts!
If you're feeling extra magnanimous, I would be really grateful if you left a review over on Apple Podcasts, too. Those reviews help other families find my podcast learn more about music. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what you love about Busy Kids Love Music. Thanks!
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Membership info for Busy Kids Do Piano
Membership info for Busy Moms Do Piano
Musical Samples You'll Hear in this Episode:
Pachelbel - Canon - Stringspace String Quartet
Row, Row, Row Your Boat (Round)
Wedding String Quartet - Canon in D (Best Version) (Johann Pachelbel)
Music Listening Schedule for Episode 104
Check out this episode's playlist to hear a few different interpretations of Pachelbel's famous piece.
Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcasts
Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you're not, head on over to do that today so you don't miss an episode. Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts!
If you're feeling extra magnanimous, I would be really grateful if you left a review over on Apple Podcasts, too. Those reviews help other families find my podcast learn more about music. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what you love about Busy Kids Love Music. Thanks!
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