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Hi. I’d like to know what grade is this piece - Canon In D (arrangement by Lee Galloway)

Canon In D - Pachelbel (arranged by Lee Galloway)


Thanks!

Depends on what you mean by "grade." What "grade" are you currently playing at? What pieces, etc.?

I recently played Galloway's Canon arrangmeent at a wedding. With the exception of one variation (measure 33 - 41.....which you can choose to delete if you find it too difficult) I'd say the overall level of the piece is "intermediate" to "late intermediate."

Coincidentally, Lee Galloway and I attended high school together in the early 1960's and sang in the school choir and madrigal group. He's been active as a piano instructor in the San Diego area for many years.

Normally a piece like Pachelbel Canon in D that was an orchestral piece arranged for piano doesn't make it into a conservatory repertoire book. There are learning series like Alfred's & Faber that have their own arrangements of orchestral pieces (usually a condensed version no more than 3 pgs). An arrangement of the Canon in D out of Alfred's Book 1 or 2 is not rated by a conservatory like RCM or ABRSM.

After looking at the score, the beginning few lines is comparable to the Beethoven Sonatina in G I played recently at RCM-3. The RH starts off playing just 1 note at a time & LH plays legato (slurred) phrases. Something I'd rate as between RCM 3 & 4. Then the RH plays intervals (2 notes at a time) so gets progressively difficult. From bar #41 onwards you get 4-note chords for the RH 1 after another so the level would be at least a RCM-5. Need to hit the chords accurately and connected with pedal when you need to do jumps.

When doing the big RH chords, someone like myself who is in an intermediate level would drop some of the lower notes. The top note is the melody note so can't be dropped. If you find playing the RH chords too much, you can drop 1 or more of the lower notes.

A piece like Beethoven Für Elise in its entirety is rated at RCM-7. The top section is much easier to learn and would have a lower rating about a RCM-3. A lower level repertoire book would include the top section but not the middle which is technical.

I was looking for a piano version of Canon in D to teach to my son, who is a beginner but wants to learn it. The Lee Galloway arrangement is beautiful, especially towards the end, and I regard it as among the easiest piano arrangements I have seen. Paul Barton on You Tube has worked through nine different piano arrangements of Canon in D.

The Lee Galloway one in my view should be within the capabilities of someone at around ABRSM grade 3 to 4. Some of the left hand rotation is tricky for people at that level, but the arrangement has been written to fall under the fingers quite easily.

It's readily available on line so why not just play it through and see. It is very scale oriented so if you know the scale it is quite easy to sight read.

Grade 4-5

I reviewed the current ABRSM syllabus, and I must respectfully disagree. I'd say the piece falls more in the range of ABRSM 6, with proper fingerings being the key to mastering the more challenging LF passages.

I find it kind of similar to Mozart K545 in terms of difficulty and the patterns used, so I would agree that it's about grade 6, maybe grade 5 for its shorter length and complexity.

Thank you for all the answers. I appreciate it.


That's amazing. Wow....