Johann Pachelbel’s most famous work is his Canon in D. George Winston played his version of it in the key of C. Why not? C is 2 sharps easier than D major.
Is it possible to decompose it further? Simplify it so that even beginners can have fun with it?
I recall a post-concert spontaneous “jam session” in Houston, Texas where Robert on his guitar and I on the piano played the chords of Pachelbel and the host improvised on his flute. It was such fun that I wanted to do it again.
A canon, by definition, is a piece of music where one voice repeats the part of another, throughout the whole piece. Pachelbel’s Canon is often subtitled with “basso ostinato” — a repetitive bass. Once you know the bass line and the sequence of chords, you can repeat it over and over again.
In the above score, notice there are 4 parts. Four different players can play in sequence. The first begins. The second joins at the beginning when the first reaches rehearsal mark A. Similarly the third player joins at the beginning when the first reaches rehearsal mark B and the second reaches rehearsal mark A. And so on.
Of course there is more development than these 16 bars, but at least beginners can play this.
I googled “Pachelbel Canon and C” and discovered that others have arranged simple versions for solo piano in the key of C. And there are plenty of free sheet music on the Internet such as this one.
Concert Blog 
Such lovely gentle piece, and so timeless. It’s amazing to think that Johann Pachelbel’s Canon Baroque composition was popular at it’s time of composition somewhere around 1680-1695(exact date unsure), then remained in obscurity for centuries. The first publishing of it happened in 1919, and first performance in 1940, would lead to it\s popular reemergence in 1968 by a chamber orchestra.
I first become familiar with the piece by an album and subsequently, a concert by pianist George Winston. He played “Variations on the Kanon by Johann Pachelbel” on his solo piano album, “December”.
I had the great fortune of hearing Winston perform live, playing in Honolulu at the Neil Blaisdell Center. Winston had it included this piece on his in 1982 tour. After the concert I met with Winston backstage; he was a soft spoken man and greeted me with the softest handshake.
Hi Caroline, just read your comment more than seven years later!! Hope you are still playing the piano. I’ve been teaching piano, theory, ukulele, and more all in Zoom. Here’s my latest. https://www.anneku.com/2023/06/12/pachelbel-progression/