Why is 'Canon in D' so Popular?

Pachelbel's Canon is like calm breathing. This may have something to do with its timeless and universal appeal. There's a simple but profound peace and beauty in it.

Forget the haters. This is the perfect piece of music.

One of the most beautiful & evocative pieces of music ever written. As a pianist I’ve been playing this for decades, but a full orchestra only does it supreme justice.

It is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. It is a progression of beginnings and endings of life. If you do not feel any emotion listening to this song, I truly feel sorry for you.

I first heard Pachelbel's Canon in D while flying (Pan Am) eastward over the Pacific Ocean in 1968; I was returning home from a year in Vietnam, and I have ever since associated the Canon with relief, anticipation, celebration, and joy.

Canon in D is a TIMELESS beauty! 🎶👍

I've been listening to Pachelbel's Canon since I was, 15,16 years old. I'm now 64 ! And... this video is EXCELLENT to describe the "inside" of Pachebel's Canon. I had the unique chance to hear the Munich Pro Arte Orchestra under the direction of Kurt Redel playing it. Also some other songs that have a real strong influence from Pachelbel's Canon are "Le Temps de Vivre" by Georges Moustaki, a french singer, and "Find a way to my heart" by Phil Collins. THANKS.. for sharing this video Greetings from Monterrey Mexico.

When I began to explore classical music (during middle school/high school) I started out with some of the most popular (since it was before the internet and WAAAY before anything like YouTube and Spotify, we had to find music other ways). "Hooked on Classics" actually became a way for me to connect familiar tunes (like, ones I'd heard on movies, commercials or TV) with name and composer. Canon became one of my favorites. Only within the past decade or so did I discover how much people HATED it. I first heard Rob Paravonian's "Pachelbel Rant" and then "The Axis of Awesome" show how many songs used that progression. Many serious classical musicians and music lovers have a sort of disdain for it, probably due to its ubiquity. (By the way, the earliest versions that I listened to, it was played on 3 violins and a bass, not cello, so didn't even know cello was involved till later, and I figured basso continuo was usually boring anyway). To me, rather than Comic Sans, it's more like Helvetica. It's everywhere (even if you don't know it's there). It's actually quite beautiful and in its own way,. very functional, but because it's EVERYWHERE (and perhaps due to its simple structure) people either hate it or say they hate it. But for those of us who learned about classical music where we could find it, the ubiquitous isn't always BAD. As much as we might want to branch out and find more obscure or complex pieces, these familiar tunes bring us back to when the joy of classical music began to blossom. In that, I find comfort and some gratitude, since these - Canon, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Handel's Water Music, Ravel's Bolero, etc., - were our "gateway drug" of sorts, into the world of classical music.

Back in the dark ages when I was a girl, TV stations went off the air at midnight, and our local station played this before signing off. I used to stay up on the weekend to hear it. For years I wanted to know what the name was but there was no way to look it up. Then I head it in a movie and read through the credits to find the name. I have been listening to versions on Youtube trying to find the one I remember and I think you've led me to it. Thank you! Only took 50+ years.

What a classic and beautiful exposition on Pachelbel's Canon! I too have listened to it since a teenager and really appreciate this analysis. Although I took some academic music classes in college, I never learned the lineage of pieces such as is explained here. Thank you so much for this.

It makes you feel happy and sad at the same time, it is pretty special.

You know the adage. If it's not baroque, don't fix it.

I absolutely LOVE the Pachelbel Canon slow version… have done so for as long as I can recall.

I can imagine Pachelbel reacting the same way when people play the Canon as Ravel did when people kept asking him to play Bolero - "You know, I have written OTHER pieces?!"

The Pachelbel's Canon registered with me at a very young age. The progression to me was as if nature born. I seem to have been a tuned to it in easily recognizing it in other works. I often tried to argue the point with other music lovers of my genre with little to know traction because I myself didn't understand the musicology of it until this very fine synopsis. Having a long career in spacial and mathematical optimizations, including progression theory, I have not until now been enlightened to the history of music theory and progressions until now having seen this vid. For someone like me who has been on the spectrum for so long in relating my love of music with my love of mathematical modelling, this vid has been a real revelation.

Fabulous . 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 You explain every detail in detail, answering all questions from different perspectives. Love the video, the illustration, the narrator and narrative! Like the chord progression… smooth and very pleasant to listen to. Thank you 🙏 so much

I first heard this music during the interval between films in a cinema around 1969. I was so taken by it I asked the staff to find its name by getting someone to go upstairs to ask the projectionist. The answer was: Raymond LeFevre Orchestra - The Immortal Cannon Of Pachelbel - 1969 45rpm. This was an up-tempo piece, probably the first of the 'pop' versions, and although I was never a pop enthusiast, I went out the next day especially to buy it. Its still here on YouTube - search using the title above.

Great Video. Heard the canon first on "December" from Georg Winston.

This is excellent material not only due to the historically informed derivation of the chord structure from the Romanesca progression but also for the non-judgmental repertoire of examples, both from classical and pop music. Enjoyed your video a lot!

There is something special about this music. I don't like very much classical music but love this piece. It's soothing, beautiful and inspiring. Thanks for this analysis.