Hello folks,

What are the BASIC differences between a canon and a fugue?

Thanks for your responses.

isn't much of a definite difference in practice, though in theory, canons are supposed to be two or more voices each following the exact same intervalic melody, but starting at different bars and perhaps pitches. Fugues only have to have each voice begin with the subject, after which time the voice can go off and do its own thing. But the vast majority of pieces named "canon" don't follow the above canon rule closely, and are essentially indistinguishable from a fugue.

The main and only one of many differences is this:

If a melodic idea or voice(it's called a leader in a canon and a subject in a fugue) is duplicated in a second voice(called a follower in a canon and an answer in a fugue) that begins before the first has finished the result is called a canon. In a fugue, the answer enters only after the subject is over.

Bach's two part invention no.8 is a really good example of a canon. It's easy to follow, since it only has two voices going on at once.