Canon in D: Best Classical Guitar Music Online Guitar Lesson

Classical Guitar Lessons

This is an online guitar lesson for the very well-known piece by Johann Pachelbel 'Canon in D' or as it also known 'Pachelbel's Canon'. The piece revolves around a repeating series of chords that are embellished with each subsequent variation. The form of this piece could be considered to be 'Theme and variation' whereby a theme is established and then it undergoes transformations within each variation. 

Canon in D: History & Context

Pachelbel's Canon is the name commonly given to a canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel in his Canon and Gigue for 3 violins and basso continuo (German: Kanon und Gigue für 3 Violinen mit Generalbaß) (PWC 37, T. 337, PC 358), sometimes referred to as Canon and Gigue in D or simply Canon in D. Neither the date nor the circumstances of its composition are known, and the oldest surviving manuscript copy of the piece dates from the 19th century.

Classical Guitar Technique Tips:

This is actually a great piece if you are in the early stages of learning guitar as the opening theme can be played without too much effort and technique. As is usual in theme and variation form each variation becomes increasingly complex before returning to the opening theme at the conclusion of the piece. Before beginning to learn this classical guitar piece I suggest downloading my classical guitar transcriptions for this piece here. Also, I have a course that teaches the full-version of this with exclusive video content and pdf files that are not available on YouTube!

The tuning involves dropping the 6th string down one tone from E to D. This is essential for playing the piece in the key of D major. 

Tuning:
6 - D
5 - A
4 - D
3 - G
2 - B
1 - E

Notable guitarists that have covered this piece include Jerry C and FunTwo (albeit theirs were rock versions)