How to Play Canon Rock in D by Johann Pachelbel (Guitar Lesson)
What are you waiting for? Get your membership now!
Canon Rock in D
David Mackenzie teaches a rock oriented interpretation of Pachelbel's classic "Canon in D."
Taught by David MacKenzie in Songs with David seriesLength: 80:12Difficulty: 3.0 of 5
Video Subtitles / Captions
Supplemental Learning Material
Songs with David
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsDavid MacKenzie will teach a wide variety of songs from genres such as metal, rock, punk and more.
Lesson 5
The Star-Spangled Banner
David MacKenzie teaches you how to play "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Length: 22:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Electric Eye Part 1
This lesson is based on the song "Electric Eye," which was recorded by Judas Priest in 1992. Learn Dave's interpretations of the song's signature riffs.
Length: 24:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Electric Eye Part 2
Learn the rest of Dave's version of "Electric Eye" by Judas Priest.
Length: 29:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Closer to the Heart
David MacKenzie covers "Closer to the Heart," a classic song by Rush.
Length: 44:30 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Advanced Star-Spangled Banner
In this lesson David MacKenzie teaches an advanced arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner." This lesson includes a backing track.
Length: 37:12 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Canon Rock in D
David Mackenzie teaches a rock oriented interpretation of Pachelbel's classic "Canon in D."
Length: 80:12 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Carol of the Bells
DMac teaches a Trans-Siberian styled rendition of "Carol of the Bells."
Length: 35:53 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
About David MacKenzie
View Full Biography
Dave MacKenzie has been playing guitar for 30 of his 45 years on this earth. Starting back when he was 14 years old, Dave picked up the guitar and started to learn from his oldest brother, who had played some guitar as well. Dave was hooked, and couldn't learn fast enough! Everything from the Beatles, Chicago, Ted Nugent, The Eagles, you name it, Dave was trying to play it.
Then as with a lot of players out there, Eddie Van Halen came along and changed the way guitar was played! Dave has been influenced by anyone he has heard play guitar, literally! Always keeping an open mind and a humbleness about him has helped him to keep learning new things on, and about the guitar.
Dave has mostly played in top 40 rock, country, and pop bands. He is most recently playing guitar and keyboards in a 80's metal band called Open Fire. They have opened for Warrant, Firehouse, Winger, and LA Guns
within the 3 and a half years they have been together, and are now jumping into original music.
Dave believes you should have internal motivation, and passion to play guitar, and most definitely, it should be fun!
As with his playing, Dave will find new ways to show you how to get the most out of your time learning guitar!
Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Jessica Baron
Jessica kindly introduces herself, her background, and her approach to this series.
Free LessonSeries Details
Pamela Goldsmith
Pamela brings a cap to her first 13 JamPlay lessons with another original etude inspired by the great Leo Brouwer. This is...
Free LessonSeries Details
Mike Tolle
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Amodeo
Nick explains how to play some of the most commonly used chords in the bluegrass genre.
Free LessonSeries Details
Erik Mongrain
Erik expounds on the many possibilities of open tunings and the new harmonics that you can use in them. He explains what...
Free LessonSeries Details
Alan Skowron
Alan shares his background in teaching and sets the direction for his beginning bass series with simple ideas and musical...
Free LessonSeries Details
Danny Voris
Lesson 7 is all about arpeggios. Danny provides discussion and exercises designed to build your right hand skills.
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Kroos
Free LessonSeries Details
Marcelo Berestovoy
Marcelo teaches the eight basic right hand moves for the Rumba Flamenca strum pattern. He then shows you how to apply it...
Free LessonSeries DetailsElectric Guitar Lesson Samples
Our electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Stuart Ziff
Stuart delves into all the different aspects of how R&B guitar has had an impact within reggae music.
Free LessonSeries Details
DJ Phillips
Learn a handful of new blues techniques while learning to play Stevie Ray Vaughn's "The House Is Rockin'".
Free LessonSeries Details
Bumblefoot
Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal pulls out all the stops in his blistering artist series. Dive into the intense,...
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Kellie
Nick explains how to use scales and modes effectively when soloing over a chord progression.
Free LessonSeries Details
Eric Madis
In this lesson Eric talks about playing basic lead in the Memphis Blues style.
Free LessonSeries Details
Brent-Anthony Johnson
Just like with the plucking hand, Brent-Anthony shows us the basics of proper fretting hand technique. In addition, he shows...
Free LessonSeries Details
Brent Mason
Learn Nashville style country guitar from one of the most recorded guitarists in history. Check out rhythm grooves, solos,...
Free LessonSeries Details
Rex Brown
Dive into the playing of Rex Brown. As the bass player for Pantera, Down, and Kill Devil Hill, Brown's real world experience...
Free LessonSeries Details
Andy Whitehead
Join Andy as he takes a look at the style of one of the most influential guitarists of all time: Eddie Van Halen. In the...
Free LessonSeries Details
Jane Miller
Jane Miller talks about chord solos in part one of this fascinating mini-series.
Free LessonSeries DetailsJoin over 507027 guitarists who have learned how to play in weeks... not years!
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Unlimited Lesson Viewing
A JamPlay membership gives you access to every lesson, from every teacher on our staff. Additionally, there is no restriction on how many times you watch a lesson. Watch as many times as you need.Live Lessons
Exclusive only to JamPlay, we currently broadcast 8-10 hours of steaming lesson services directly to you! Enjoy the benefits of in-person instructors and the conveniences of our community.Interactive Community
Create your own profile, manage your friends list, and contact users with your own JamPlay Mailbox. JamPlay also features live chat with teachers and members, and an active Forum.Chord Library
Each chord in our library contains a full chart, related tablature, and a photograph of how the chord is played. A comprehensive learning resource for any guitarist.Scale Library
Our software allows you to document your progress for any lesson, including notes and percent of the lesson completed. This gives you the ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.Custom Chord Sheets
At JamPlay, not only can you reference our Chord Library, but you can also select any variety of chords you need to work on, and generate your own printable chord sheet.Backing Tracks
Jam-along backing tracks give the guitarist a platform for improvising and soloing. Our backing tracks provide a wide variety of tracks from different genres of music, and serves as a great learning tool.Interactive Games
We have teachers covering beginner lessons, rock, classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, fingerstyle, slack key and more. Learn how to play the guitar from experienced players, in a casual environment.Beginners Welcome.. and Up
Unlike a lot of guitar websites and DVDs, we start our Beginner Lessons at the VERY start of the learning process, as if you just picked up a guitar for the first time.Our teaching is structured for all players.Take a minute to compare JamPlay to other traditional and new methods of learning guitar. Our estimates for "In-Person" lessons below are based on a weekly face-to-face lesson for $40 per hour.
 |
||||
| Price Per Lesson | < $0.01 | $4 - $5 | $30 - $50 | Free |
| Money Back Guarantee | Sometimes | n/a | ||
| Number of Instructors | 92 | 1 – 3 | 1 | Zillions |
| Interaction with Instructors | Daily Webcam Sessions | Weekly | ||
| Professional Instructors | Luck of the Draw | Luck of the Draw | ||
| New Lessons | Daily | Weekly | Minutely | |
| Structured Lessons | ||||
| Learn Any Style | Sorta | |||
| Track Progress | ||||
| HD Video | - | Sometimes | ||
| Multiple Camera Angles | Sometimes | - | Sometimes | |
| Accurate Tabs | Maybe | Maybe | ||
| Scale/Chord Libraries | ||||
| Custom JamTracks | ||||
| Interactive Games | ||||
| Community | ||||
| Learn in Sweatpants | Socially Unacceptable | |||
| Gasoline Needed | $0.00 | $0.00 | ~$4 / gallon! | $0.00 |
Mike H.
"I feel like a 12 year old kid with a new guitar!"
I am 66 years young and I still got it! I would have never known this if it had not been for Jamplay! I feel like a 12 year old kid with a new guitar! Ha! I cannot express enough how great you're website is! It is for beginners and advanced pickers! I am an advanced picker and thought I had lost it but thanks to you all, I found it again! Even though I only play by ear, I have been a member a whopping whole two weeks now and have already got Brent's country shuffle and country blues down and of course with embellishments. Thank you all for your wonderful program!
Greg J.
"With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace"
I'm a fifty eight year old newbie who owns a guitar which has been sitting untouched in a corner for about seven years now. Last weekend I got inspired to pick it up and finally learn how to play after watching an amazing Spanish guitarist on TV. So, here I am. I'm starting at the beginning with Steve Eulberg and I couldn't be happier (except for the sore fingers :) Some day I'm going to play like Steve! I'm self employed with a hectic schedule. With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace, rewinding and replaying the videos until I get it. This is a very enjoyable diversion from my work yet I still feel like I'm accomplishing something worthwhile. Thanks a lot, Greg
Bill
"I believe this is the absolute best site for guitar students."
I am commenting here to tell you and everyone at JamPlay that I believe this is the absolute best site for guitar students. I truly enjoy learning to play the guitar on JamPlay.com. Yes, I said the words, ""enjoy learning."" It is by far the best deal for the money.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Cluky teaching and playing could be a good exercise
i just noticed the performance intro is different then you teach
Hi Slick12! You're right about the intro piece being a little different from the lesson piece. I'm sure Dave was just doing a little improv on the intro performance. Sometimes this happens if there is a really good take that just happens to differ slightly from the actual lesson content. If you'll notice in the Supplemental Content Dave even mentions "This segment is slightly improved" :) HAPPY JAMMING!!
great lesson ty
very nice
Thanks David. I like how you broke the song down into manageable sections. When you look at all the parts and practice them until you have it I can relate. Sorry to say the negative comments were posted from some. Thank you for the effort you put into this song you are a very talented guitarist.
Should have been better I think, but not terrible. I even noticed several mistakes. I would not put my work out as a professional though with that many errors.
Where's the tab that matches the lesson?
This was just awful!
Can we have a lesson of canon rock by JerryC ?
what a joke
I will repeat what was already written... Just tab what you play for christ sake
Great song, great instruction.. You can't find a better relaxed calm instructor.. Keep up the great lessons David
disappointed the demo included very little of the riff material covered in this entire lesson. Why not tab what was played?
Wow! I guess slaving till 2 o'clock in the morning over a song don't make the song sound good.....I'm sorry that sound bad.
this guy play this song horribly. i can't believe they didn't do a retake!
my guitar stinks what is a good guitar around 600
Epiphone black beauty
Love the lick around the 2:17 minute mark of the first performance of demonstration. Reminded me of a Steve Morse lick :)
:D Awesome!
Great lesson David!
what tuning?
Great!! I need to buy a guitar pedal for this song. Would you please recommend one? I am using the AC4TV tube amp.
Oh I can't wait to learn this
Might have already come up but is there a backing track for this. Can not find it.
really sweet stuff :)
One of my favourite pieces of music and an arrangement that I quite like. Yes Jerry C, Fun Two, QPAK and Mattrach have versions that I prefer, I do think that DMac's version is one I would like to learn. My disapointment though David is that the version you have in the supp info is very sterile - yes I know this is a piece for the individual to embellish, but I've only been playing a few months (im only learning this as its great for practice as it has power chords/barre chords/bends/vibrato/pm/finger picking etc - so gives me a good workout) and I would prefer supp info that went with the on-screen version. I am sitting in front of the PC pause/playing trying to see where your fingers went and then write it down - you could have saved me (and others) a great deal of agony by just tabbing what you played. All the best Andy
To be honest this playing was pretty sloppy and far less virtous than other versions of Canon Rock but overall its a an alright version for people who cant play the epic versions found on youtube (like me >.
THIS IS GREAT SONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT DO YOU HAVE TABS FOR THIS SONG???????????
David what are you playing thru (amp, what settings and pedals/effects?
i think that one was straight thru matt browns marshall amp, but i am not sure what model amp it is. just a little reverb going on there. it is a combo sized amp, at least 50 watts i think?
I mite be asking for too much, but is it possible for you to tab your performance? There are parts that I cannot understand but would love to learn them :) Thanks
Awesome challange, you did a fantastic job. I do seem to have a problem with the backing trac. Whay I right clicked and douwn loded the backing track it was no where close to what you were playing to. Totally different. When I click the play button in the lesson the backing track and your background match?
My mistake, I named the wrong download.
Great lesson. Thanks
how come theres some parts that arnt tabbed? like the chords and main theme
Crap, I wish I was skilled enough to play a 3.0 rated song. This lesson is fantastic Dave, and certainly something to strive for. Maybe next year I'll be able to play it.
take the breakdown of licks and riffs, and work on one or two a week and build up slowly. you'll get there.
When you comped the song, you failed to include the 'hamming it up' pre-intro, lol. Great lesson, professor! Wonderful break down, and it sounded awesome.
Thanks a lot! Now theres no getting things done around the house for quite some time.... Awesome lesson! Thanks.
Great choice DMac! You rocked it. Will there be tab posted?
i have writen all these riffs out and just need to get them into a form that can be posted. so hang in there.
I absolutely love your videos, and you were the main teacher I wanted to learn from on jamplay, so I was a bit dissapointed to see that you didnt teach any genre.
smokin!!!!
great thanks but i need tabs
ha..love it!!!
rockin those glasses dmac!
2 thumbs up!! Thanks a lot :D:D
AWESOME!!!...i've been wanting to learn this....cant wait to get started....thanks d-mac for the lesson..your awesome
Dmac im not sure who i love more this song or you for teaching it. shed a tear..
Great video Dmac!
Holy SHIT this was the reason for me starting playing the guitar :D :D :D this song is soooo epic :) Everybody that has a electric guitar must learn this song!
kwl, I love the song been wanting to learn it myself for awhile so I'm taking the opportunity now;)