In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e.g. quarter rest, one measure, etc.). The initial melody is called the leader, while the imitative melody is called the follower which is played in a different voice. The follower must be created from the leader by being either an exact replication of the rhythms and intervals of the leader, or a transformation such as those listed in "types of canons" (below). Canons where all parts sing identical music and which repeat are called rounds, such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat".
Accompanied canon is a canon accompanied by one or more additional independent parts which do not take part in imitating the melody.
