Music

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The music in the Pikmin games plays a big role in the general ambiance. This is due to the fact that the music is programmed to change dynamically according to what's happening at the moment. Each area has its own theme, and if a player approaches an enemy, for instance, the game adds tracks of intense percussion to reflect the ongoing battle. In addition, most cutscenes have their own score, and all menus besides the in-game pause menu have unique themes.

In Pikmin, when confronted with the Beady Long Legs or the Emperor Bulblax, the game will change to play their corresponding unique theme, while all other bosses do not make the song change. In Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, however, almost all bosses use the common boss theme. In Pikmin 3, mini-bosses have their own theme.

Music in caves is often minimalistic and appears to be chosen according to the difficulty and kind of hazards and beasts that await the Pikmin and leaders. In rest sublevels, an unique soft melody plays. When The Key has been delivered in Pikmin 2's Challenge Mode, a rather weird theme plays for the rest of the sublevel.

The composer of the music for Pikmin and Pikmin 2 is mainly Hajime Wakai, though other artists such as Kazumi Totaka have also contributed. Pikmin 3's soundtrack was composed and arranged by Asuka Hayazaki, Atsuko Asahi, and Hajime Wakai.

Pikmin 3

This article or section needs to be cleaned up, either its format or general style.
Notes: I didn't merge this, because I'm still really early into Pikmin 3. — {Espyo^T} 11:24, 8 September 2014 (EDT)

Pikmin 3's music goes for having a more natural, simple, but atmospheric affect rather than having melodically strong tunes.

Every area in Pikmin 3 has a total of 6 music variations: Morning, Morning Work, Work, Afternoon, Evening, and Weather. The "Weather" variation is shared by all the regions except the Formidable Oak and the Distant Tundra, which have their own unique themes when Weather is active. All cave areas share the same soundtrack.

Unlike in the past two games, Pikmin 3 does not have an extra variant of each song that changes when an enemy is nearby. Instead, a continuous tampani and cowbell beat is overlayed with the normal music to signify enemies in the vicinity. Pikmin 3 does, however, have unique music variants for when Pikmin are preforming tasks such are building bridges or carrying spoils.

All bosses share the same theme except for the Vehemoth Phosbat and the Plasm Wraith, which both have unique themes. All mini-bosses share a remixed version of Pikmin 2's boss theme.

For every official trailer of the game, Mission Mode's main theme was used.

Variations

To do: Can someone more musically-inclined fix some of the terms used here? Also, check if the Burgeoning Spiderwort variation, the obstacle variation, and the treasure carrying variation are mutually exclusive.
Care to do so?

In all games, the most variating pieces of music are the area themes. When night is starting, the music changes to a calmer remix of the default theme; this is the most recognizable change in area themes. The other notable variation happens when the player is near an enemy. The default theme gains the addition of more bass instruments, mostly drums, and slightly increases in volume in order to add some more action to the music. This change can be used by the player to detect enemies in the vicinity.

In Pikmin, the only other variation comes in the form of a rise in tempo in Challenge Mode. Pikmin 2 introduced several more variations to the overworld area and cave themes:

When the player is near an enemy, only one bass instrument is added to the theme. The full "enemy" variation mentioned above occurs when the enemy is being battled against.
When near a Burgeoning Spiderwort, some slow strings can be heard in the background. Because there are no Burgeoning Spiderworts in caves or in the Valley of Repose, this variation cannot be heard in such places, and it's currently unknown if such variations were even composed for those themes.
When Pikmin are working on an obstacle, such as a bridge or a gate, near the player, the theme gains some timpani and some trumpets.
When carrying a treasure near the current leader, a generally high-pitched wind instrument like a flute is added, in order to add cheerfulness to the song.
When playing as Louie or The President, the metric modulation will often change to a more swung style. With Olimar, the time signature is in 4/4 or 3/4, but with the alternate leader, it's 6/8 or 9/8.
When the current leader's HP is below half, the song is slowed down to 70%.
When the current leader gets hit, the audio becomes garbled momentarily.
If so many Pikmin are massacred in an event that at the end, only 9 or less remain, the main instrument will not play some of its notes. This can happen even if the initial amount was 10, but does not happen at all in caves.

In light of this information, it can be concluded that, theoretically, there is a total of 512 versions for the overworld area themes in Pikmin 2: (normal + night) × (near enemy + battling enemy) × Burgeoning Spiderwort × obstacle × treasure × Louie × low HP × garbled × Pikmin massacre.

Pikmin 2 boss theme

There is a "general" boss theme in Pikmin 2, that's used when battling against bosses. The exceptions are:

The Giant Breadbug, that has no boss theme, though the sublevel it's found on has a unique theme.
The Waterwraith, which has its own, non-dynamic theme, although it does change to a secondary theme upon reaching the second phase of the fight.
The Titan Dweevil has its own theme.

For all other bosses, the theme is comprised of several sub-themes, that change dynamically according to some of the boss' actions:

There is a main introduction theme, that plays when a boss appears.
Most of the time, when the boss is not performing its main attack, the theme is the default boss battle theme.
When the boss is getting ready to attack, a tense preparation theme plays, with the most emphasis given on the strings.
When performing a long attack, the theme changes to a more bellicoso composition in which the French horns and the brasses play alternately, at a fast pace.
When performing a short attack, one of four themes plays. These are picked in order each time the corresponding attack is used. These themes sound similar to the long attack theme, but each part is composed to sound appropriate individually.
When performing a special move that's not necessarily an attack, a theme that increases in tone plays.
When the boss dies, a climatic finale theme plays. The Waterwraith has a variation of this theme, that breaks halfway through and serves as the introduction to the theme for the second phase of the battle.

All bosses that use the this theme have the introduction play when they appear, the default theme play when not specified otherwise, and the climatic finale play when they die. If there are multiple bosses on a single floor, such as the Burrowing Snagrets in the Snagret Hole, the climactic finale will play only when all bosses are killed. As for the remaining themes, those only play during certain actions of certain bosses. The following table pinpoints when each theme plays for each boss:

	Attack preparation	Long attack	Short attack	Special move
Empress Bulblax	Shaking Pikmin off	Rolling
Burrowing / Pileated Snagret			Unearthing	Burrowing
Beady Long Legs				Shaking Pikmin off
Emperor Bulblax			Tongue swipe	Jumping
Man-at-Legs		Firing		Shaking Pikmin off
Ranging Bloyster			Mouthpart attack	Shaking Pikmin off
Segmented Crawbster		Rolling		Swipe
Raging Long Legs	Shaking Pikmin off	Stomping

Waterwraith's theme

The Waterwraith has a unique theme, one that's more focused on strings and brass, reflecting the creature's otherworldly nature. This theme plays on Submerged Castle floors 1-4.

The main part of the normal boss theme plays on the final floor. When the boss' rollers are destroyed, a fanfare similar to the main boss defeat fanfare plays, except that halfway through, it changes into a warped version of the main boss theme. This version continues during the section of the fight in which the creature is harmless and without its rollers.

Whenever it swipes Pikmin away, the "special move" theme plays, and will become warped along with the main part. Finally, when defeated, the main boss defeat fanfare plays.

Titan Dweevil's theme

Much like the main boss theme, the Titan Dweevil theme is quite dynamic, and changes depending on the stages of the battle, and the creature's attacks.

There are five main battle themes. When a treasure is detached from the creature's body, the next theme is used from there on out. These are only used when the boss is not attacking.
- The first theme (all treasures still attached) is consisted mostly of brasses, strings and a few drums.
- The second theme (one treasure detached) adds an organ and a marimba.
- The third theme (two treasures detached) removes the organ and marimba and adds a honky tonk and a harp.
- The fourth theme (three treasure detached) reuses the marimba, honky tonk and harp, and adds basses, a tom and a calliope.
- The fifth and final theme (only Louie remaining) is mostly focused on the French horns, the bass and the strings, and is all-around slightly less aggressive.
When the creature is preparing to attack, a tense theme plays, that increases in tone, and is consisted of a marimba and several brasses and strings.
When the Flare Cannon is being used, a theme consisted mostly of brasses and strings playing in two long tones.
When the Shock Therapist is being used, a rather melancholic theme plays, featuring the organ and some French horns.
When the Monster Pump is being used, a theme plays that's mostly recognized by its zigzagging harp.
When the Comedy Bomb is being used, a theme with the organ and a bass play, with the main strings and the bass increasing in tone gradually.
When the boss is defeated, the strings quickly play a high-pitched note that's held for a couple of seconds.

2-Player Battle

To do: Find out what causes extra drums to be added to the theme.
Care to do so?

All levels in 2-Player Battle use the same theme. This song only varies in certain situations.

When a Red Pikmin is carrying a Cupid's Grenade, a tuba or clarinet is introduced.
When a Blue Pikmin is carrying a Cupid's Grenade, some string intrument is introduced.
When Olimar is one yellow marble away from winning, the Pikmin will chant "O-ri-ma!" in time with the music.
When Louie is one yellow marble away from winning, the Pikmin will chant "Ru-i!" in time with the music.

Music outside the main games

Strawberry Flower released a Pikmin-themed song, Ai No Uta, along with the release of Pikmin, and later a number of other Pikmin-themed singles and albums. The Pikmin OST is called Pikmin Worlds. For the advertising of Pikmin 2, another song, Tane no Uta, was used.

In the stage that represents the Pikmin franchise in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Distant Planet, a collection of songs can play:

Main Theme (Pikmin), the title screen from Pikmin.
World Map (Pikmin 2), a remix of the area selection screens in Pikmin and Pikmin 2.
Stage Clear / Title (Pikmin), a remix of the day end theme and the title screen from Pikmin.
Forest of Hope, the normal theme and "enemy" variation theme for The Forest of Hope.
Ai no Uta
Ai no Uta (French Version), shorter version of Ai no Uta, in French (needs to be unlocked).
Tane no Uta (needs to be unlocked).
Environmental Noises, a collection of animal and insect noises.
Title (Big Brain Academy), the title screen from Big Brain Academy.

Secrets

Pikmin 2 features a small collection of secrets regarding the music.

One of the most hidden easter eggs in the franchise is the rendition of Totaka's Song in Pikmin 2. This can be heard when a cave is completed for the first time; the player must wait for around two minutes on the treasures salvaged screen.

When Pikmin are following the current leader, they will occasionally hum some assorted songs, and one of them resembles the title theme of the game. In addition, if there are 20 Pikmin of each type in the party, they'll sing a portion of Ai no Uta.

Trivia

Because Candypop Buds and geysers are technically considered bosses in Pikmin, approaching one will activate the enemy battle variant of the area's theme.