21 Songs that use Pachelbel's Canon chord progression

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Maroon 5 not only following chord progression, but also using Pachelbel melody

From this video I assume that both The Beatles and Radiohead have never had a song using Pachelbel's Canon chord progression.

Never would I thought I'd see Rick Astley and the Soviet national anthem in the same video

Cool, now I will never unhear Pachelbel's Canon in the Russian anthem.

10:07 David manages to rickroll us while staying in theme. Sweet.

These chord progression videos are pure gold. Adding all of these to a playlist for messing around later. Your channel is an incredible help - Thanks

In the Renaissance and Baroque periods, there were many pieces that were essentially increasingly complex variations on a tune played over a "ground" bass line, usually a four bar chord progression. Many of these progressions became famous and had names (Romanesca being one). Yes, they are repetitive, but they provided a formal structure over which the composer (or performer) could display their talents and were very popular.

This progression is much older than Pachelbel‘s canon. It is mentioned in a treatise from 1480 „De praeceptis artis musicae“ by Guilielmus Monachus. It is discribed as a parallel motion of thirds (basically the beginning of Pachelbel‘s canon) with added base notes to complete the chords. It was always a beloved progression for improvisation. As said the traditionel name is Romanesca. It exsits a minor version of that progression which is called la Folia, e.g. the famous Sarabande by Händel. https://youtu.be/xOLQd_pUbxs

Much love for The Scatman! He's still out there, livin' it up in Scatland.

i love the fact that "laddies and gentlemen" uses not only the pachelbel's canon chord progression, but they managed to sing "can't help falling in love" from Elvis Presley too. Thats works so nice to me

never would've guessed that the USSR anthem had the same chords as Pachelbel's Canon, great video

For those who want to look further, this chord progression is called the Romanesca, here in its older form which has a bassline that goes down a fifth then up a second, and also exists with a stepwise descending bassline, or a mix of the two, the "Galant" Romanesca.

3:21 "Hook" by Blues Traveler is my favorite use of this progression, since it's used specifically in service of the song's message. Lyrically, the song itself is a satirical critique on the state of pop radio at the time - in particular, how many songs were either overly formulaic, undervalued meaningful or even coherent lyrical content, or were blatantly made just for a paycheck. They use Pachelbel's Canon as the base progression because, by 1994, it was so frequently used in popular music that it was reputed in songwriting circles as cliché, a fallback for those who treated easy-listening pop music as a business.

There's a reason it's so popular, it's one of the greatest chord progressions ever

Hi David, I just wanted to thank you for the past near-three years of content on this channel. I really got into your content during the middle of 2020 and you amongst many other YouTubers who dissect songs through production and music theory. It has not only helped me learn and compose music a lot faster than usual, but gave a whole new level of appreciation for songs I’ve heard a hundreds times over. Not to mention your mentioning of Hook Theory really accelerated things for me in terms of understanding and composing modal structures. After acquiring the knowledge and practicing in this past year or two, I think I’m on the cusp of making my own demos soon and plan to go all the way by going into the studio with them. That being said, I’ve always dreamt about doing this ever since I was 12 so I once again want to thank you (amongst others) for basically changing my life and fulfilling a dream come true. Keep it up. -Bryton

I love how Hook by Blues Traveler is literally about how this chord progression is overused, “if I’m feeling stuck, and need a buck, I don’t rely on luck because the hook brings you back.” And then it became their most popular song

My favorite use of it is in Komm Susser Todd from the anime movie End of Evangelion. Love how it uses the imo very euphorically joyous and weddingly chord progression and over it incredibly depressing and nihilistic lyrics.

Pachabel rant comedy bit by Rob Paravonian introduced me to the cello hell that is Pachabel canon in D 15 years ago and I've been hearing it everywhere ever since.

Mind blown because I finally have an explanation for why, as a non-music-theorist, sometimes I whistle one of my favourite pop or rock songs, I find myself transitioning to Pachelbel's Cannon without realising.