Pachelbel for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first

Johann Pachelbel was a German organist and composer who lived from 1653 to 1706. He wrote hundreds of pieces for the organ and for church choirs. Today he is known for one piece above all: the Canon in D, which is played at weddings around the world. It is the best first piece for a child, and it is a clear lesson in how a canon works.

Quick facts

• Born: 1653, in Nuremberg, Germany
• Died: 1706, in Nuremberg, Germany
• Era: Baroque
• Played: organ and harpsichord
• Known for: the Canon in D, organ music, and his ties to the Bach family

The life in short

Pachelbel grew up in Nuremberg, a busy trading city. He showed a gift for music and for schoolwork, and he studied with local organists.

He spent his whole working life as a church organist. His jobs took him to Vienna, Eisenach, Erfurt, Stuttgart, and Gotha. In 1695, he came home to Nuremberg as organist of the city’s main church, and he stayed until he died.

In Eisenach and Erfurt, he became a friend of the Bach family. He taught the organ to Johann Christoph Bach. That student later raised and taught his own little brother, Johann Sebastian Bach. So Pachelbel was the teacher of Bach’s teacher. Read who taught whom. Read Bach for kids.

His family life held sorrow. His first wife and their baby son died during an outbreak of plague. He married again and had seven children. Two of his sons became musicians, and one of them moved to the American colonies.

Pachelbel was admired in his own time as an organist and a teacher. After he died, his music was forgotten for many years.

The Canon in D

A canon is a piece in which every player has the same tune, but they start at different times. It works like a round, such as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

In Pachelbel’s canon, three violins play the same music. The second violin starts two bars after the first. The third starts two bars after the second.

Below them, a low instrument plays eight slow notes. It plays those same eight notes 28 times, from the first bar to the last.

No one knows when Pachelbel wrote it or why. It was not printed until 1919. In the 1970s, after a recording made it popular, it became one of the most played classical pieces in the world.

Four pieces to play first

Canon in D. Listen first for the eight bass notes. Then listen for each violin as it joins. The notes start slow and get quicker as the piece goes on. Read the Canon in D listening guide.

Gigue in D. Pachelbel wrote this short, skipping dance to follow the Canon. It is heard far less often. It lasts under two minutes.

Chaconne in F minor. An organ piece built the same way as the Canon, over a short bass pattern that repeats while the music above it changes.

Toccata in E minor. A short organ piece that shows off fast fingers over long, low notes held by the feet.

Things to do together

Sing a round. Sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in two groups. The second group starts when the first reaches the second line. That is a canon.

Count to 28. Play the Canon. Make a tally mark each time the eight bass notes start again.

Play the bass. On a piano, play these eight notes at a slow pace, again and again: D, A, B, F sharp, G, D, G, A. Play along with a recording.

Follow one violin. Watch a video of the Canon. Choose one violinist and watch that player’s bow from start to finish.

Walk a canon. One person walks a pattern across the room. A second person copies it four steps behind.

Where else you have heard it

The eight-note bass pattern of the Canon turns up under many pop songs. Once a child knows it, they may start to spot it.

Print and play

Fill in a composer study notebook page for Pachelbel. For the other composers of his era, see Baroque music for kids. To learn how the organ works, read keyboard instruments for kids.

For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.