# Canon in D Major in Prose



## Jhonevans (Dec 21, 2012)

I am writing a section (in prose) where _Canon in D Major_ is playing. The music will actually 'intersect' the writing e.g.

"Bill walked to the door.

- Enter Violin 3!

The door is locked."

The problem is I cannot read music or have no notable knowledge of Canon in D Major (or any for that matter). What I'm asking is, can anyone outline some important changes or sections in the song? Perhaps give me an idea on the lingo I should be using. "Violin 3" was just random. Some abstract interpretation of the song's changes would be greatly welcomed too.

Sorry if this is confusing, anything will help.
Thanks.


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## StevenOBrien (Jun 27, 2011)

- This visualization might help you to understand it a little better.

It starts with a bass line which is essentially just 8 notes that are repeated until the piece ends.

There are indeed three violins that play during the piece. At 0:22 in the video, the first violin comes in and plays a single melody that lasts until the end of the piece. 8 notes later (the length of the bass line), the second violin comes in and plays the exact same melody that the first violin is playing, only it's offset by 8 notes. The third violin then comes in 8 notes later after that, playing the same melody. This type of form is called a canon.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Strictly speaking, a canon is where one or more voices enter a melody after another, echoing the other. The canon is formed from a fundamental (which forms the beginning of the canon--the melodic line from which the other voices are formed) and one or more echoes, which mimic the fundamental, but may enter at any harmonic interval to the fundamental at any time (e.g. An echo may enter at the beginning of the second bar of the fundamental, with the first note of the echo a perfect fifth below the first note of the echo.) Each measure of the fundamental line must be written with the timing and transposition of the echo(es) in mind.

Of course, as with all musical forms, canon varies in stringency according to the needs of the composer.


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