Investigating melodies

Pachelbel's Canon

Read through the following slides - but pay attention - there will be questions too . . .

Pachelbel's Canon

This is a piece written by the composer Johannes Pachelbel in 1680. It is a very popular piece today, much more so than in his lifetime. It is one of the most requested pieces for weddings..

Pachelbel's Canon

It was originally written for 3 violins and a cello - the violins play melody after melody in canon, while the cello player repeats the bassline over and over again.

Multiple Choice

Which group of instruments was the Canon written for?

• 3 violins and a piano

• 3 violins and a cello

• 3 flutes and a guitar

• 3 flutes and a piano

Multiple Choice

In which year is Canon thought to have been written?

• 1680

• 1780

• 1880

• 1980

Pachelbel's Canon

So how does it all work? It is built around a pattern of 8 chords, played over 4 bars: D - A - Bm - F#m - G - D - G - A

The lowercase m in the chord name means minor - all the other chords are major. (Don't worry about what that means - we will cover it more in terms 5 & 6).

Pachelbel's Canon

Remember when we were analysing melodies, we talked about how they fit with the chords? Well, Pachelbel does exactly that, which is how he is able to have 3 different melodies playing at the same time. They are all based on the same chord, so they have to fit together. He then introduces some rhythmic variety - and a mighty wedding piece is born!

Multiple Choice

What does the 'm' mean in a chord name?

• It is a major chord

• It is a minor chord

• It is a micro chord

• It is a maxi chord

Pachelbel's Canon - bar 1

The chord of D (D major) has 3 notes: D F# A

The chord of A (A major) also has 3 notes: A C# E

Note the pattern - play one, miss one, play one, miss one, play one.

Don't worry about the # for now - you just need to remember all Fs and Cs will be sharp (black note to the right).

Multiple Choice

How many notes in the major chords previously mentioned?

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 5

Multiple Choice

The notes D F# A make up which chord?

• D (D major)

• A (A major)

• Dm (D minor)

• Am (A minor)

Multiple Choice

Which notes are in the chord of A major?

• D F A

• D F# A

• A C# E

• A C E

Pachelbel's Canon - bar 1

In his first melody, Pachelbel only uses one note from each chord.

From the D major chord (D F# A), he chooses F#, and from the A major chord (A C# E) he chooses E.

Multiple Select

Why do you think Pachelbel chooses an E to follow the F#? (There are 2 possible answers at this stage - choose both).

• Because he is going to write a conjunct melody - E is next to F#

• Because he is going to write a disjunct melody - E is a leap away from F#

• For no reason - he just picked a note at random

• Because he is going to write a static melody, and E is close to F#

Pachelbel's Canon - bar 2

The chord of Bm (B minor) has 3 notes: B D F#

The chord of F#m (F sharp minor) also has 3 notes: F# A C#

Remember - all Fs and Cs are sharp in this piece.
Notice how all the chords have 3 notes - and all skip a note in between each note.This is IMPORTANT - try to remember this.

Pachelbel's Canon - bar 3

The final new chord - G (G major) has 3 notes: G B D

In bar 3 this is followed by D - can you remember which 3 notes are in the chord of D major?

Drag and Drop

In the chord of D major there are 3 notes: ​

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​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

D

F#

A

G

C#

E

B

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT true about the chords we have seen so far?

• They all start with the note that is the name of the chord

• They all have 3 notes

• The middle note is always a sharp (#)

• The notes are alternate - you play every other note from the starting note

Pachelbel's Canon - bar 4

The final bar of the progression re-uses 2 of the previous chords

G and A, giving a final progression of

D - A - Bm - F# - G - D - G - A

Reorder

Place the following melodic fragments in order to match the chord progression D - A - Bm - F#m - G - D - G - A.

Your melody should be completely conjunct if you have completed it correctly. (Remember, each bar has 2 chords.)

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Pachelbel's Canon - bars 5 - 8

For his 2nd melody, Pachelbel sticks with the idea of one note per chord, but does not repeat the previous melody. Instead, he does a sequence - an immediate repetition of a melodic phrase played higher or lower. Does he choose to go higher or lower?

Multiple Choice

Here is the 2nd melody. Is it higher or lower than the 1st melody?

• One note higher

• Two notes higher

• One note lower

• Two notes lower

Multiple Choice

What is the correct term for how the 2nd melody relates to the 1st?

• Sequence

• Repetition

• Imitation

• Progression

Pachelbel's Canon

Well done for completing this part of the lesson.

For the next task, work in pairs, and learn the first few melodies of Pachelbel's Canon. One partner should play the bass line, the other plays the melody. Everything you need is back on Google Classroom.