{"id":4117,"date":"2022-11-21T10:55:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=4117"},"modified":"2025-06-20T12:52:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T16:52:28","slug":"animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp<\/em>, Nintendo&#8217;s mobile game entry for the widely-beloved <em>Animal Crossing<\/em> series, has captured the hearts of tens of millions of players around the world.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>This may be in part due to how pleasantly the franchise translates to mobile\u2014it&#8217;s an open-ended game that naturally encourages you to take things easy. You get to chip away at whatever aspect of the game you want to explore at your own pace, and real-time waiting for various events (such as fruit regrowing or furniture being crafted) is an inherent charm of <em>Animal Crossing<\/em> rather than the annoyance that it often is in other mobile titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The laid-back music is undoubtedly a big contributor to&nbsp;<em>Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp<\/em>&#8216;s leisurely tone, delivering some playful tunes that are reminiscent of compositions in the main series. In celebration of <em>Pocket Camp<\/em>&#8216;s five-year anniversary, let\u2019s explore the melodic and harmonic elements in the main theme that make your virtual campsite such a pleasant place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A transcription of the melody and a functional \/ harmonic analysis of the chords are below in score notation as well as MIDI for less sheet music-minded creators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignwide\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Pocket-Camp.mp3\" loop preload=\"auto\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>The melody of&nbsp;<em>Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp<\/em>&#8216;s theme<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"5688\" height=\"1976\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Melody-Score-e1512402885895.jpg\" alt=\"The sheet music for the main theme's melody: The music theory behind Animal Crossing Pocket Camp\" class=\"wp-image-4118 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Melody-Score-e1512402885895.jpg 5688w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Melody-Score-e1512402885895-355x123.jpg 355w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Melody-Score-e1512402885895-400x139.jpg 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Melody-Score-e1512402885895-768x267.jpg 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Melody-Score-e1512402885895-1024x356.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Melody-Score-e1512402885895-1200x417.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 5688px) 100vw, 5688px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 5688px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 5688\/1976;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2395\" height=\"1633\" data-id=\"8503\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-1-4.png\" alt=\"Pocket Camp Melody MIDI Notation (mm. 1 - 4)\" class=\"wp-image-8503 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-1-4.png 2395w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-1-4-400x273.png 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-1-4-1024x698.png 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-1-4-355x242.png 355w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-1-4-768x524.png 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-1-4-1536x1047.png 1536w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-1-4-2048x1396.png 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2395px) 100vw, 2395px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2395px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2395\/1633;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2345\" height=\"1636\" data-id=\"8504\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-5-8.png\" alt=\"Pocket Camp Melody MIDI Notation (mm. 5 - 8)\" class=\"wp-image-8504 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-5-8.png 2345w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-5-8-400x279.png 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-5-8-1024x714.png 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-5-8-355x248.png 355w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-5-8-768x536.png 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-5-8-1536x1072.png 1536w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-5-8-2048x1429.png 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2345px) 100vw, 2345px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2345px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2345\/1636;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2346\" height=\"1636\" data-id=\"8505\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-9-12.png\" alt=\"Pocket Camp Melody MIDI Notation (mm. 9 - 12)\" class=\"wp-image-8505 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-9-12.png 2346w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-9-12-400x279.png 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-9-12-1024x714.png 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-9-12-355x248.png 355w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-9-12-768x536.png 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-9-12-1536x1071.png 1536w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Melody-MIDI-Notation-mm.-9-12-2048x1428.png 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2346px) 100vw, 2346px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2346px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2346\/1636;\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the theme is only 30 seconds long, the melody is packed with small details that make it simply delightful. Right off the bat, the piece introduces an arpeggiated <strong>motif<\/strong> (a recurring musical idea) that\u2019s the core ingredient of the theme\u2019s catchiness. The way the pitches hop up and down gives the tune a lighthearted playfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more, rather than immediately developing and changing up the motif, the first two bars of the melody are repeated <em>exactly<\/em>. This helps underpin the idea that the game isn\u2019t rushing to take you from one place to another\u2014even the music is taking its time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These arpeggiated figures are contrasted in the next four bars (mm 5 &#8211; 9). The contour here is overall more stepwise, with only a few leaps here and there. The rhythm is also sparse by comparison, carving out a songlike melody that feels idle and carefree. Although a phrase isn\u2019t repeated exactly as in the previous four bars, rhythmic symmetry within the section still sweetly ties the passage together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The grand finale of the little tune blends together ideas from both of the sections detailed above. It starts off with a reiteration of the first motif in a new key, but then follows that up with a line that draws on rhythms seen in the second section. We climb to our highest pitch yet in measure 12 to top it all off before looping back to the beginning, concluding our melodic journey with a (very peaceful) bang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The harmony of&nbsp;<em>Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp<\/em>&#8216;s theme<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"5688\" height=\"4109\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-Score-e1512403377153.jpg\" alt=\"The sheet music for the main theme's harmony: The music theory behind Animal Crossing Pocket Camp\" class=\"wp-image-4124 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-Score-e1512403377153.jpg 5688w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-Score-e1512403377153-353x255.jpg 353w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-Score-e1512403377153-400x289.jpg 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-Score-e1512403377153-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-Score-e1512403377153-1024x740.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-Score-e1512403377153-692x500.jpg 692w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-Score-e1512403377153-1200x867.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 5688px) 100vw, 5688px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 5688px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 5688\/4109;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"5688\" height=\"4266\" data-id=\"4125\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm1-4.jpg\" alt=\"Harmony MIDI Notation (mm. 1 - 4)\" class=\"wp-image-4125 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm1-4.jpg 5688w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm1-4-340x255.jpg 340w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm1-4-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm1-4-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm1-4-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm1-4-667x500.jpg 667w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm1-4-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 5688px) 100vw, 5688px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 5688px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 5688\/4266;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"5688\" height=\"4266\" data-id=\"4126\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm5-8.jpg\" alt=\"Harmony MIDI Notation (mm. 5 - 8)\" class=\"wp-image-4126 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm5-8.jpg 5688w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm5-8-340x255.jpg 340w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm5-8-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm5-8-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm5-8-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm5-8-667x500.jpg 667w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm5-8-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 5688px) 100vw, 5688px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 5688px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 5688\/4266;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"5688\" height=\"4266\" data-id=\"4127\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm9-12.jpg\" alt=\"The MIDI for the main theme's harmony (The music theory behind Animal Crossing Pocket Camp)\" class=\"wp-image-4127 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm9-12.jpg 5688w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm9-12-340x255.jpg 340w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm9-12-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm9-12-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm9-12-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm9-12-667x500.jpg 667w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Animal-Crossing-Harmony-MIDI-mm9-12-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 5688px) 100vw, 5688px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 5688px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 5688\/4266;\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon an initial glance, this harmonic analysis may feel surprisingly overwhelming. The piece definitely makes some interesting harmonic moves despite its apparent simplicity, but as we break down each section, you might begin to see that it\u2019s not too complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first section (mm 1 &#8211; 4) is in the home key of <strong>F major<\/strong>, and aside from a small stop on gm7, stays on the tonic chord for its entirety. The gm7 can be thought of as a <strong>diatonic passing chord<\/strong>, which is a chord where the bass note connects two other chords. The tonic chord\u2019s various inversions help the passage get a lot of mileage out of a single chord without forcing the piece to really \u2018go anywhere\u2019 for its simple introduction of the theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second section (mm 5 &#8211; 8) starts with a <strong>direct modulation<\/strong> (a key change without a pivot chord to connect the transition between keys) to D major. The progression continues to primarily rely on the tonic chord, but sprinkles in the same passing chord (now em7 in our new key) a little more generously than in the previous section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final section (mm 9 &#8211; 12) is where some spice comes in. Now in B major, the section starts with the now familiar trick of using inversions of the tonic chord connected by passing chords. However, chords that follow\u2014like B\/E and F#add9add13\u2014come from a jazz palate, and frankly the functional analysis doesn\u2019t do them much justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The piece then heads back into F major in the last bar. While there\u2019s no pivot chord, the F# in the bass of measure 11 leads nicely to the G on the downbeat of measure 12. The final chord, C, serves as the dominant of our home key of F major, completing the loop seamlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The music theory behind <em>Pocket Camp<\/em>: Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While we dug into some of the classic music theory aspects of the piece, there\u2019s plenty more to be explored. The modest arrangement, gentle tempo changes, and wholesome performances all contribute to the overall allure of this piece and the music of <em>Animal Crossing<\/em> at large. Music theory provides us a great tool to understand how and why music &#8220;works,&#8221; but it\u2019s important to always connect it back to the emotions we experience and the other elements at play that can\u2019t be expressed via sheet music or MIDI rolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Digest\" width=\"370\" height=\"208\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CJFy521mInk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Explore royalty-free melodies, chord progressions, and grooves by key, BPM, genre, and more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/sounds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Join Splice today<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In celebration of the five-year anniversary of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, explore the music theory elements behind its main theme that make your virtual campsite such a pleasant place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":23734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1699,1696],"tags":[488,18,1633,1626],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp - Blog | Splice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the music theory elements behind the main theme of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that make your virtual campsite such a pleasant place.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp - Blog | Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore the music theory elements behind the main theme of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that make your virtual campsite such a pleasant place.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog | Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-21T15:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-20T16:52:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Harrison Shimazu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/bitly.com\/namaboku-twt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@splice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Harrison Shimazu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Harrison Shimazu\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1ed73f890efad66c4808440680e9e50d\"},\"headline\":\"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-21T15:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-20T16:52:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/\"},\"wordCount\":880,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"arrangement\",\"community\",\"composition\",\"video games\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Music Theory\",\"Tips &amp; Tutorials\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/\",\"name\":\"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp - Blog | Splice\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-21T15:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-20T16:52:28+00:00\",\"description\":\"Explore the music theory elements behind the main theme of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that make your virtual campsite such a pleasant place.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-theory-featured-image\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Splice Blog\",\"description\":\"An inside look at making music\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Splice\",\"alternateName\":\"Splice Sounds\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Splice-logo-black-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Splice-logo-black-background.png\",\"width\":2928,\"height\":1540,\"caption\":\"Splice\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/splice\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/splice\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@splice\",\"https:\/\/discord.com\/invite\/splice\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1ed73f890efad66c4808440680e9e50d\",\"name\":\"Harrison Shimazu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/208af1495724cce6967f47553c4b971a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/208af1495724cce6967f47553c4b971a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Harrison Shimazu\"},\"description\":\"Harrison Shimazu is a composer, content strategist, and writer who's passionate about democratizing music creation and education. He leads the Splice blog and produces vocaloid music as Namaboku.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@namaboku\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/bitly.com\/namaboku-twt\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/author\/harrisons\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp - Blog | Splice","description":"Explore the music theory elements behind the main theme of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that make your virtual campsite such a pleasant place.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp - Blog | Splice","og_description":"Explore the music theory elements behind the main theme of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that make your virtual campsite such a pleasant place.","og_url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/","og_site_name":"Blog | Splice","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice","article_published_time":"2022-11-21T15:55:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-20T16:52:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Harrison Shimazu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/bitly.com\/namaboku-twt","twitter_site":"@splice","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Harrison Shimazu","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/"},"author":{"name":"Harrison Shimazu","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1ed73f890efad66c4808440680e9e50d"},"headline":"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp","datePublished":"2022-11-21T15:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-20T16:52:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/"},"wordCount":880,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg","keywords":["arrangement","community","composition","video games"],"articleSection":["Music Theory","Tips &amp; Tutorials"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/","name":"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp - Blog | Splice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg","datePublished":"2022-11-21T15:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-20T16:52:28+00:00","description":"Explore the music theory elements behind the main theme of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that make your virtual campsite such a pleasant place.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Pocket_Camp_5_Years_BlogPost.jpg","width":1920,"height":1200,"caption":"animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-theory-featured-image"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/animal-crossing-pocket-camp-music-analysis\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The music theory behind Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/","name":"Splice Blog","description":"An inside look at making music","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Splice","alternateName":"Splice Sounds","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Splice-logo-black-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Splice-logo-black-background.png","width":2928,"height":1540,"caption":"Splice"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice","https:\/\/x.com\/splice","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/splice\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@splice","https:\/\/discord.com\/invite\/splice"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1ed73f890efad66c4808440680e9e50d","name":"Harrison Shimazu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/208af1495724cce6967f47553c4b971a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/208af1495724cce6967f47553c4b971a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Harrison Shimazu"},"description":"Harrison Shimazu is a composer, content strategist, and writer who's passionate about democratizing music creation and education. He leads the Splice blog and produces vocaloid music as Namaboku.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@namaboku","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/bitly.com\/namaboku-twt"],"url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/author\/harrisons\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4117"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36090,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions\/36090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}