Canon In D Chord

Cyberfret Com Canon In D Sharp

"Pachelbel's Canon" Progression

Eight notes. 27 repetitions. And that's just in the canon.

"Pachelbel's following me. It sounds paranoid but he's following you too, you hear him every day."

— Rob Paravonian

A Chord Progression made famous by the well-known Pachelbel's Canon in D major, which is the Trope Namer.

The progression is usually in a major key, and usually runs as follows: I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V (repeat). If in a minor key, it is usually: i-v-VI-III-iv-i-iv-V (repeat). Occasionally, II, ii or ii° may be substituted for the last IV/iv, and I or Ib (or i or ib)^noteThe "b"'s in this case mean "first inversion", not "flatted". Second inversions use "c"'s. may be substituted for the iii or III. An example can be heard here.

Comedian Rob Paravonian famously ranted about the ubiquity of this progression, although most of his medley would be better placed in The Four Chords of Pop. He has a point, though... (Interestingly, substituting Ib for iii as stated above allows the two tropes to overlap.)

Often used to create the bittersweet, nostalgic kind of feeling the piece is so famous for.

See also Falling Bass, an alternate bass melody which nevertheless meshes well with the chords of the Pachelbel's Canon Progression, and may also have been its origin.

Examples:

Pachelbel's "Canon in D", and thus any songs based around a sample of it:
There was a local commercial for a furniture store called Sprint, no relation to the phone company, which used a jazzy piano variation of "Canon in D" for the background music.
Mega Man 4's prologue uses this once.
Coven - "One Tin Soldier"
Pet Shop Boys - "Go West" (originally by the Village People, but the progression was purposely played up in the cover)
- The song's melody, meanwhile, is based on the Soviet national anthem!
- It's still a copy of "Give Thanks", a Christian worship song written by Henry Smith one year earlier. (YouTube)
  - Which in turn is a copy of Ralph McTell's "Streets of London", released four years before that.
DragonForce - "Valley of the Damned" (chorus and instrumental part)
Aerosmith - "Cryin'" (actually interpolates "Canon in D" in the bridge)
The Farm - "All Together Now"
The verses of "Superman" by Goldfinger
Parts of the ending music from Super Mario Bros. 2
Most of the intro song from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island as well.
Parts of the credits theme from Super Mario 64 also uses a variant: I Vb vi Ic IV Ib ii V
Parts of the U.S.S.R. national anthem.
Green Day - "Basket Case" omits the last IV chord (goes directly from I to V).
Belle and Sebastian - "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying", transposed into F# Major.
COOL&CREATE - "Help Me, Erin!", a super happy fun dance/techno remix of a rock remix (of the same name) of a Touhou track. This link starts at where that high melody comes in, which is where we get the progression, with ii substituting for the last IV.
The track "Lemming 1" from Lemmings uses a variation: I-V-vi-iii-IV-V-I-V.
Alfred J. Kwak: The main theme, sung in the original Dutch by Herman van Veen. The ending theme halfway does it, but mixes around the order of chords in the second half of the progression.
"People Change" by Rockapella, originally from their album "2."
The Decemberween version of the intro theme music from Homestar Runner apparently sounds like this.
The bassline to the first half of the Eight Melodies theme from MOTHER uses a slight variation: I-iib-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V.
"Yatta!" by Happatai, used in the animutation "Irrational Exuberance".
Minor key version: "Sprinting Spirits" by Sato Naoki, from the Eureka Seven soundtrack, volume 2 disc 1.
"Komm, Süsser Tod" from The End of Evangelion
Spiritualized's "Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space"
The Osmonds' "Love Me for a Reason", later covered by Boyzone.
"I Can Be Your Friend" from the VeggieTales story Are You My Neighbor?
"Tsubasa wo Kudasai," known to non-Japanese anime fans from K-On! and Rebuild of Evangelion.
Scatman John's "ScatMan's World" uses the chord progression.
"Anthem" from Bill and Ted's Excellent Musical.
Tokyo Ghetto Pussy - "I Kiss Your Lips"
Cascada's "Another You".
Family - Dame estrellas o limones
"Jolly Old St. Nicholas".
My Little Pony:
- The verses of "Mirai Start", the Japanese theme song of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
- The franchise's signature "My little pony, my little pony," jingle also qualifies, although it's only long enough to make it through the progression's first half.
"One Day More" from Les Misérables.
"Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Whatever" by Oasis both use variations of this.
"Hotel California" by the Eagles is based on a minor key variant.
The chorus of "The Way" by Fastball is a variant: I-V-vi-III⁷-IV-I-V.
- Their other song "Out of My Head" is also a variant: I-V-vi-I/I⁷-IV-I-II⁷-V⁷.
"Welcome to the Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance.
"Step" by Vampire Weekend
A much looser example in the main progression of Billy Joel's "Piano Man", which also implements Falling Bass: I-Vb-IVb-Ic-IV-Ib-II⁷-V. However, the Canon's bass line can still overlap with it by raising the second-to-last note a half-step.
Kirby:
- "Gourmet Race" uses a variant in its final section: I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-iv⁷b-V.
- "Kirby Rocket's Big Blastoff" from Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.
"Domain" by The Future Sound of London.
The chorus of "I'll Be Your Everything" by Tommy Page. Especially evident in the final chorus.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team: The background pieces for Pi'illo Castle, Rose Broquet, and especially Mushrise Park all feature variations on this progression.
"My House" from Matilda: The Musical has this in the latter half of the verse section.
Dragon Ball GT 's "Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku" uses a version for its refrain that replaces the I-IV with iii-vi-♭VII or iii-vi-ii-III7 alternately.
- Dragon Ball Kai 's "Dragon Soul" takes the former substitution and also swaps the first V with the first iii for its refrain.
Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul, and Mary follows a similar chord progression: I-iii-IV-I-IV-I-vi-V⁷/V-V.
A section of the closing credits for Super Mario 64 follows a similar chord progression, also implementing Falling Bass: I-Vb-vi-Ic-IV-Ib-ii-V.
If novelty songs from YouTube count, then a good example is Parry Gripp's "Raining Tacos"
A variation appears in the ending theme of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
"Are Your Eyes Still Blue" by Shane McAnally (intro)
"Main Theme" from Xenoblade Chronicles uses the minor variant of this progression at the start and end.
In Summer Wars, the first section of the theme to "150 Million Miracles" follows the chord progression of I-IV-vi-iii-IV-iii-ii7-V
Lilith's theme in Bomberman 64: The Second Attack! uses a slight variation of this chord progression.
Pokémon has several of these: the S.S. Anne from the first generation, Goldenrod City from the second generation, both Slateport City and (perhaps the most noticeable example, because of the arrangement) the marine science museum from the third generation, and Mimikyu's theme from the 7th generation (which is very reminiscent of Vitamin C's Graduation Song).
Kandystand - "Disco Queen" (chorus; verses use The Four Chords of Pop)
The first phrase of the Moon theme from DuckTales uses a variation with II⁷ in place of the second IV chord.
The theme played at Orlesian balls and parties in Dragon Age. It seems to be the Thedosian analogue to the real-world piece in its form and in-universe function.
The verses of "Trust You Forever" from Mobile Fighter G Gundam.
"Want You Back" by The Jackson Five uses a slightly altered I-IV-vi-iii-IV-I-ii-V progression, but in terms of harmonic function it's an almost exact match.
The B-section of "Singing Mountain" from Chrono Trigger uses a variation ending with ii-III instead of IV-V.