Baroque composer
Johann Pachelbel is probably most known for his
Canon in D. A Canon is a piece of music that starts with an introductory melody and then repeats it ad infinitum with various variations. Pachelbel's Canon has an eight chord melody: D, A, B, F#, G, D, G, A. This melody has appeared as the harmony in a number of pop songs over the years, including Vitamin C's
Graduation and Blue's Traveler's song
Hook. It has also been used in many other classical pieces. And even in
stand up comedy.
Many composers have created their own variations on this timeless theme. My favorite one is George Winston's Variations on the Kanon by Pachelbel. In that piece, Geroge plays the Canon in C Major (instead of D Major), which subtlety changes the tone of the song, but does make it easier to play. I'm also a big fan of the numerous Canon improvisations played by Kyle Landry.
Back in September I stumbled across Lorenzo Gonzalez's web page titled, Teach Yourself Pachelbel's Canon on Piano, which promised easy, step-by-step instructions on learning Pachelbel's Canon (in C Major), complete with short scores and audio and video examples. I took piano lessons back when I was in elementary school for a couple of years before giving up on it. I took it back up, informally, in high school and enjoy playing to this day. I've had very little formal training and even less natural talent, and you'd know that if you saw me playing. But it's a fun hobby and stress reliever.
In any event, after finding Lorenzo's web page, I decided I'd try my best to follow along and practice, practice, practice. And practice I did. I've been trying to play this song at least three times a day since I first found the page, and have been pretty constant. Once you get the left hand part down and can do that without thinking, the piece is a lot of fun because you can experiment with the right hand and try different things and see if it sounds good or not.
In any event, after working through Lorenzo's lessons, after spending countless hours practicing and listening to George Winston's variations and trying to mimic them, and after finding other Pachelbel sheet music arranged by Jim Paterson, I decided to put down the arrangement I've come to like playing on paper. It's not nearly as complex or textured or dynamic as Kyle Landry or George Winston's music, but it's an interpretation I can play and that I like playing. Maybe you'll like playing it, too.