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SongsCanon in D
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3 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the ukulele brings some of them into reach.

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  3. 1'
  4. 7
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  17. 1

Johann Pachelbel, c. 1680. Public domain.

4 strings · C4–A5 · G–C–E–A with the high, re-entrant G: soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles.

Tap a string, or tap a chord and drag across them to strum. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — Q, W, E and R are the four strings, A first; 1 to 7 hold the chords of the key, Space strums, and 0 lets go.

UkuleleFree · printable · plays in your browser

Canon in D — Ukulele Tab

Canon in D (the opening line), written out for the ukulele as easy melody tab with the string and fret for every note and set up above on the Standard. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the ukulele waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes17, 10 pitches
  • RangeC4–E5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo72 bpm · about 15 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a ukulele play Canon in D?

Yes — every one on this page plays it. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • Standard✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E5 · loaded above
  • Low G✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E5 · load it
  • Baritone✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–E5 · load it

Canon in D: ukulele tab

The large line is the fret — 0 is the open string; the small line under it is the string it is on. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

▶ Play it above

Canon in D — ukulele tab (Standard) · tonalics.com

Canon in D ukulele tab as text

The same notes as tablature: one line per string, the A string on top, and each number the fret to press on that line — 0 is the open string. Read it left to right, one note at a time.

A|-7-5-3-2-0---0-2-3-2-0--------------|
E|-------------------------1-0-1------|
C|-------------------------------2-0--|
G|-----------0-----------0------------|

Are there chords for it?

Not on this page. The chords here are chosen by rule — the three chords of the key — and they are only offered where that rule can be checked against a published harmonisation and agrees with it on most bars. This melody has no barred score in its sources to hang chords on. The tab above is the whole tune.

The 10 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 10 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 0C×1
  • 2C×1
  • 0E×1
  • 1E×2
  • 0G×2
  • 0A×3
  • 2A×3
  • 3A×2
  • 5A×1
  • 7A×1

What to expect on a ukulele

  • It runs from C4 to E5, an octave and a major third, using 10 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 5 semitones of range are left above it.
  • 94% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a minor third, F4 to D4, at note 16.
  • The highest note is at fret 7, so the hand has to leave first position for it.
  • It is played on 4 strings (G, C, E and A), and 7 notes are an open string.
  • The picking hand changes string 5 times.

About the tune

Pachelbel wrote the Canon and Gigue in D for three violins and bass around 1680. It was almost forgotten until a 1968 recording made it one of the most played pieces of baroque music and a fixture at weddings.

Johann Pachelbel, c. 1680. Public domain. More about Canon in D →

Canon in D on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng or handpan, which do not have the notes.

More songs for the ukulele

All 36 ukulele songs · Christmas songs for ukulele · The online ukulele on its own

Playing it on a real ukulele?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The ukulele tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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