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Canon in D on the ocarina

Updated 2026-10-29

Canon in D on the ocarina starts at the top and walks down: high E, high D, high C, B, then A, G, A, B. These are the first violin's first six bars (bars 3 to 8, after the bass plays two bars alone), written here in C major so every note is a natural; after that the violin climbs past the top of the ocarina. They reach from low A to high E, which only a 12-hole ocarina covers.

What are the notes for Canon in D on the ocarina?

Canon in D, played here in C major, 4/4 time, bar by bar: high E, high D, high C, B | A, G, A, B | high C, B, A, G | F, E, F, D | C, E, G, F, E, C, E, D | C, low A, C, G, F, A, G, F. Press Play to hear the tune.

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  1. high E
  2. high D
  3. high C
  4. B
  5. A
  6. G
  7. A
  8. B
  9. high C
  10. B
  11. A
  12. G
  13. F
  14. E
  15. F
  16. D
  17. C
  18. E
  19. G
  20. F
  21. E
  22. C
  23. E
  24. D
  25. C
  26. low A
  27. C
  28. G
  29. F
  30. A
  31. G
  32. F

What is the tricky spot in Canon in D?

The drop from C to low A in the last bar, the one note in the piece below the all-covered C. On a 12-hole, Canon in D goes from C to low A: you cover the left sub-hole and right sub-hole.

The first four bars are slow, even steps, mostly down the scale, so play them smoothly with a soft "du" on each note and take a breath after the B that ends the second bar. The last two bars move twice as fast and zigzag: C, E, G, F, E, C, E, D, then C, low A, C, G. Learn them at half speed, and set your fingers for low A while you play the C before it. The piece is a canon, so a second ocarina can start again from the first note when you reach the third bar: Pachelbel's second violin does exactly that, two bars behind the first.

Which ocarina can play Canon in D?

A 6-hole ocarina cannot reach low A, and a 4-hole ocarina cannot reach low A, high D and high E, so play Canon in D in this key on a 12-hole ocarina in C. On an ocarina in G or F, use the same fingerings: the tune sounds in a different key, which is fine when you play alone. The linked chart has every fingering, and you can check your notes with a tuner such as our free ocarina tuner.

When was Pachelbel's Canon first printed?

In 1919, more than two hundred years after Pachelbel died. The oldest surviving copy is a manuscript from 1838 to 1842, and the scholar Gustav Beckmann first published the canon in 1919, in an article on Pachelbel's chamber music. That printing sets it for three violins over a two-bar bass that repeats to the end, which Beckmann calls an expressive "Ostinato" carrying the whole piece like a strong foundation (our translation). Our tabs follow its first violin, bars 3 to 8. In the next bar the violin climbs higher than an ocarina reaches in this key, so the tabs stop there. The slow version most people know comes from a 1968 recording by Jean-François Paillard's orchestra, which made the piece famous. Pachelbel died in 1706, so the canon is public domain. We show the melody only. Music: Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706).

More ocarina songs

Next hard song: The Entertainer. More: all the songs.