What is a canon?

• A. A curved line indicating legato between notes.
• B. A curved line connecting identical pitches to sustain.
• C. A gradual increase in tempo.
• D. A composition where a melody is imitated after a delay.

Answer: (D)

Canon is a musical texture where a melody is introduced and then imitated by another voice after a short delay, so the same tune enters again in staggered entrances. This creates a woven, polyphonic effect as the parts follow the same line at a set offset, often seen in rounds where singers begin at different times.

This differs from the other ideas: a slur is a curved line indicating legato within a single melodic line, not imitation between voices; a tie is a curved line connecting identical pitches to sustain a note across beats; and a gradual tempo change is an accelerando, a deliberate speeding up of the tempo. A simple example is singing a melody in a round, where the same tune enters again after a delay.