For an organist, Pachelbel’s music was very light and ear-friendly

Pachelbel's musical compositions are always characterized by their clarity, lightness, and enjoyment of listening. An intriguing detail about Johann Pachelbel is that he was a proponent of the contrapuntal style and largely relied on melodic and harmonic clarity to transmit his artistic thoughts.

All of Pachelbel's compositions have a contrapuntally straightforward style. He uses a dazzling array of musical styles and instrumentation in both his chamber and voice compositions. Johann Jakob Froberger and Johann Caspar Kerll, two composers from Southern Germany, had a significant impact on Johann Pachelbel. He was also somewhat inspired by the music of Italian composers Alessandro Poglietti and Girolamo Frescobaldi. His chorale preludes are particularly significant because they contributed significantly to the establishment of Protestant northern Germany's chorale melodies in the more lyrical musical environment of the Catholic south. For three violins and continuo, he composed the well-known Pachelbel's Canon, which was followed by a gigue in the same key. Wilhelm Hieronymous Pachelbel, who was his son, was also a composer and organist.