Maybe the high ones represent human reaction & the low ones represent the monster/threat? In "Jaws" that semitone figure sounds scary because it doesn't quite resolve & you know that something's going to happen. When someone is swimming (even in a pool) , if you go "doo do..doo do..doo do..doo do.." guaranteed they will look around for a fin. What a great musical score.
*SERIOUSLY,* though: is there a video about __melodic__ scary music? It is not about chords and sudden high sounds, it is the way the melody is done makes it somehow scary.
another trick is to mimic things that are warnings in either social or natural life, a shepperd tone reminds you of firetrucks siren but is not exactly the same tone, while doing a fast heartbeat on a big bass drum playing only on the pretty high and pretty low sounds leaving the notes between... lets say... c2 and c6 in silence... make it subtle enough instead of loud and you wont need any distortion or weird thing... still i took notes, love the videos n.n
Ooh, yeah, mimicking works great too! And yeah, pretty much any deviation from musical norms is gonna put people on edge at least a bit, which is why so many horror scores are fairly atonal.
I'd prefer to keep a constant state of fear and unease. It's better to keep the audience constantly on edge then to have a lot of peace within the music. An amazing example is The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. The piece is almost entirely atonal and it is also incredibly dissonant throughout making it quite terrifying to many people who haven't listened to many dissonant pieces yet.
That was amazing! I'm in the middle of e3's Resident Evil 2 remake video, and trying to figure out why it's scary. These elements, with the darkness and low ammo make it a very compelling, albeit scary experience. Thanks man! You rock!
Scary music doesn't have to be always in minor. It can be a combination of both minor and major. I'd like you to see your comment on To Tame a Land by Iron Maiden. There's that anxiously sounding pattern (at 2:20) that makes my skin crawl. Acoustic intro in Spill the Blood by Slayer is also pretty haunting. And the Beatles, anxious piano at the end of Lovely Rita? Even in seemingly happy "When I'm 64" there's that weird melody when Paul starts to sing "Every summer we can rent a cottage..." but I guess it's just a clever usage of both scales.
Been watching some more recent videos on this channel, then got recommended "The Most Terrifying Sound You've Never Heard", and it mentioned this one, so I went to it. It's been amusing hearing 12tone's voice get, like, an octave higher with each video (in before nerdrage because it isn't actually an octave, and my music-blind self can't tell).
I would love to learn about John Carpenter's scores. They're very simple when it comes to instrumentation and melody, but at the same time extremely effective.
I loved this video. Great change from the regular music theory videos you guys make (which are great as well) that fits the holiday. Very interesting vid.
Please do a video about this figure: D, F, A, D, Bb.... A-G-F-E which is used in dozens if not hundreds of "spooky" novelty songs... I collect these kinds of songs and it is literally everywhere... some have tracked its origin, or at least its first mention, to an old book of motifs for use by silent movie pianists / organists. I can't remember the name of the book. It was supposed to be a theme for when an evil or scary or malevolent character is creeping up on someone....
It looks like it dates WAAAAY back to the silent film era and is usually attributed to J.S. Zamecnik. Read about it here: soundandthefoley.com/2013/04/04/villains-theme/
Thanks for sharing, I've actually wondered this a lot before. Do you have other videos about why other music causes other reactions? Like why some music is calming or exciting or sad or whatever?
Thanks for this! I think emphasis or imitation of heartbeat or running is also something you'll hear. And in creepy music there's often some kind of invocation of innocence or children using the high notes - think of children singing la la la to a nursery rhyme tune just before a jump scare. In Psycho the high notes have an almost onomatopoeic quality, that's not the best word but suggests at least connection between sounds and action: synaesthesia is a better word for the well known musical phrase and its suggestion of stabbing with sharp cold steel in a shower. Association is now part of it. And I think in complex scores the idea of hope dashed or desperate also features and the quality and meaning of the high notes modulates between these to invoke a full story and maintain the tension. I have a improvisation on the inside of a piano trying to explore all of it rather naively. ('Sounds like Effects') Films have a musical language that isn't just based on the inherent quality of the sound. But someone else with a more expert explanation of that part of it was something I have been looking out for, thanks again.
"Applebite" by Soundgarden kept me up at night. I don't associate songs with creepy unless it's like a soundscape or film score. But man that is the only song that had me look behind me while driving late at night.
nemoalvaradoTV Great song. Thx. It sounds a Lot like Akira Yamaoka. It is not scary, it's ...unneasy? It uses a lot o desonancy, like grounge usually does.
Yeah, the Psycho theme is the most iconic instance of this technique! The sound we used here was actually based on that: Same chord, but played slightly differently so it'd sound better on our digital instruments.
Your videos are inspiration for my compostitions. Although it's funny, how many of these tactics we use without even meaning to. Thanks for the info! :)
Thanks! I agree, I tend to think of music theory less in terms of giving people tools and more in terms of figuring out which tools people used, often without realizing it. You can then use those tools yourself, of course, but that's just a bonus!
I think for next Halloween special, you should dissect the Lavender Town song from Pokemon Red/Blue (or Green in Japan) from the original Gameboy. Plenty of creepypastas, memes, and urban legends (suicides, headaches, etc) surrounding that creepy song in a kid's game.
As a person who never studied music in my life, I find that the notes that they usually use to create tension are rough and jagged - like if you looked at a VU meter it would look like a rock cliff
Can somebody please help me xD I want to know what a specific sort of horror music is called. It plays in a lot of scenes where they show something like a camera slowly zooming in or turning towars rotten bodies with flies and maggots everywhere. It plays very fast, and in my head it kind of reminds me of Flight of the bumblebee by Korsakov. I don't know if it's played by a string instrument but I would assume so. I've been wondering about this for a while now. I have it on my mind because I definitely think it's one of the most creepier sounds you can put in a horror movie.
That study is really interesting, thanks for that, my conclusion as to why the addition of benign video may suppress valence response is simply due to the fact that there is nothing scarier than our own imagination. ....oooooooh,wooooh, it's a ghost, i think. .. ROCK ON!
I've heard convincing arguments that many horror soundtracks intentionally mimic the crying of a baby, likely in a similar vein to the scream. It just projects to the primal subconscious that something's very wrong.
I watched a psychological show a couple years ago and it said that high frequency songs put us on edge because it mimics a baby's cry of distress, which makes our brain react immediately and give us a surge of adrenaline. Women tend to be more on edge because their brains are hardwired to respond to crying babies.
Pff i was expecting music used from creepypasta readers, or that creepy terrifying reversed and/or glitchy music with hidden messages (like in LoZ BotW 2 trailer or Majora's mask creepypasta: Ben Drowned, or shit like ddlc) Basically music that makes you think "i question reality and my sanity" music is terrifying when it ends up being glitchy, reversed, and having hidden messages.
So you've covered what makes songs scary, but what about the features that make a song happy? I find that the kind of music you'd find in a show like Animaniacs or the Mario games is always full of raw joy and makes you feel good, but why?
Do you mean Macabre? Great piece of music. I think it'd fall under distortion, but I've watched several videos but only this one even begins to mention soundscapes and ambience that make up parts of the Silent Hill soundtracks.
Or you could just use a series of buzzsaw wave digital oscillators with distortions and compose a series of low and high frequencies to create artificial ambient noise and incoherent pseudo voices. The middle frequencies are what give middle ground and security to music. Take that safety away and you have something scary.
I always thought Eb minor was the spookiest key. It just gives me the Eb Gb's
killmeplease you are amazing
oh my god
That's funny... Lol
damn that was good
Music puns are over. Everyone go home.
Not all scary melodies are high though, the theme from Jaws uses very low tones and is still quite frightening.
Maybe the high ones represent human reaction & the low ones represent the monster/threat? In "Jaws" that semitone figure sounds scary because it doesn't quite resolve & you know that something's going to happen. When someone is swimming (even in a pool) , if you go "doo do..doo do..doo do..doo do.." guaranteed they will look around for a fin. What a great musical score.
It reminds me of a heartbeat gradually increasing
It is stolen from Dvorak's New World Symphony.
How to make scary music. TRITONES. ALL THE TRITONES.
ALL OF THEM
STACKED MAJOR 7THS ALSO
The age old cliche that works best IMHO is clusters (= more than two consecutive major or minor seconds).
+Fernie Canto - Yep! Also "The Siiiiimpsons!" ;-)
*SERIOUSLY,* though: is there a video about __melodic__ scary music? It is not about chords and sudden high sounds, it is the way the melody is done makes it somehow scary.
The scream scared the fucking fuck out of me fuck dude
Sorry! Tried to make it quiet so it wouldn't be too bad...
12tone its okay the video was great
Jєff Tнє Kιɭɭєя wait, jeff the killer actually got scared? whoa
another trick is to mimic things that are warnings in either social or natural life, a shepperd tone reminds you of firetrucks siren but is not exactly the same tone, while doing a fast heartbeat on a big bass drum playing only on the pretty high and pretty low sounds leaving the notes between... lets say... c2 and c6 in silence... make it subtle enough instead of loud and you wont need any distortion or weird thing... still i took notes, love the videos n.n
Ooh, yeah, mimicking works great too! And yeah, pretty much any deviation from musical norms is gonna put people on edge at least a bit, which is why so many horror scores are fairly atonal.
Holy shit the scream actually scared me
Same
Beware 2:21-2:25 and 3:55-4:01
*SCREAMS*
Matthew Peter thank you very much
I love how you first put the beware then edited your comment to put the second one too
Noted. Headphones turned down. 😂
Matthew Peter is this a jumpscare warning on a music tutorial?
Spoopy sound effects
I'd prefer to keep a constant state of fear and unease. It's better to keep the audience constantly on edge then to have a lot of peace within the music. An amazing example is The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. The piece is almost entirely atonal and it is also incredibly dissonant throughout making it quite terrifying to many people who haven't listened to many dissonant pieces yet.
It's terrifying to everybody my dude
I love how deceivingly named that piece is
That was amazing! I'm in the middle of e3's Resident Evil 2 remake video, and trying to figure out why it's scary. These elements, with the darkness and low ammo make it a very compelling, albeit scary experience.
Thanks man! You rock!
Or, you know, just shove some 8hz noise and see how the audience handles it
I actually like it. In the right context, it can underpin the whole ensemble with incredible power.
18hz at 12db spl lol
Good luck finding a theatre with speakers that can actually play that
@@MoxieCat actually a lot of theaters can and some film scores use infrasound.
8 hz is inaudible to humans bud.
Has anyone else noticed that he draws out his introduction with his right hand, whilst the rest of the videos he uses his left hand?
W. Dodds yeah No one cares
Yeah I noticed it got me puzzled too haha
their*
@@thatsme2044 who hurt you?
In one of the QnAs he said when he started the channel the artist was right handed. Now he draws stuff himself. The intro is the first artist.
Scary music doesn't have to be always in minor. It can be a combination of both minor and major. I'd like you to see your comment on To Tame a Land by Iron Maiden. There's that anxiously sounding pattern (at 2:20) that makes my skin crawl. Acoustic intro in Spill the Blood by Slayer is also pretty haunting. And the Beatles, anxious piano at the end of Lovely Rita? Even in seemingly happy "When I'm 64" there's that weird melody when Paul starts to sing "Every summer we can rent a cottage..." but I guess it's just a clever usage of both scales.
I got scared to both of the screams in this video lol
Very interesting though
Been watching some more recent videos on this channel, then got recommended "The Most Terrifying Sound You've Never Heard", and it mentioned this one, so I went to it. It's been amusing hearing 12tone's voice get, like, an octave higher with each video (in before nerdrage because it isn't actually an octave, and my music-blind self can't tell).
I would love to learn about John Carpenter's scores. They're very simple when it comes to instrumentation and melody, but at the same time extremely effective.
I've been meaning to do some stuff on film scores for a while, I'll definitely add that to the list!
Agreed. Halloween's theme is one of the simplest yet one of the most effective!
I loved this video. Great change from the regular music theory videos you guys make (which are great as well) that fits the holiday. Very interesting vid.
Thanks! Yeah, the holiday gave us an excuse to try something a little different, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!
Please do a video about this figure:
D, F, A, D, Bb.... A-G-F-E
which is used in dozens if not hundreds of "spooky" novelty songs... I collect these kinds of songs and it is literally everywhere... some have tracked its origin, or at least its first mention, to an old book of motifs for use by silent movie pianists / organists. I can't remember the name of the book. It was supposed to be a theme for when an evil or scary or malevolent character is creeping up on someone....
Interesting! Can you give some specific examples so I can look it up?
Cool, thanks, I'll look into them!
It looks like it dates WAAAAY back to the silent film era and is usually attributed to J.S. Zamecnik. Read about it here: soundandthefoley.com/2013/04/04/villains-theme/
Thanks for sharing, I've actually wondered this a lot before. Do you have other videos about why other music causes other reactions? Like why some music is calming or exciting or sad or whatever?
Probably shouldn’t have watched this at 3 in the morning...
Thanks for this! I think emphasis or imitation of heartbeat or running is also something you'll hear. And in creepy music there's often some kind of invocation of innocence or children using the high notes - think of children singing la la la to a nursery rhyme tune just before a jump scare. In Psycho the high notes have an almost onomatopoeic quality, that's not the best word but suggests at least connection between sounds and action: synaesthesia is a better word for the well known musical phrase and its suggestion of stabbing with sharp cold steel in a shower. Association is now part of it. And I think in complex scores the idea of hope dashed or desperate also features and the quality and meaning of the high notes modulates between these to invoke a full story and maintain the tension. I have a improvisation on the inside of a piano trying to explore all of it rather naively. ('Sounds like Effects') Films have a musical language that isn't just based on the inherent quality of the sound. But someone else with a more expert explanation of that part of it was something I have been looking out for, thanks again.
I also muck about creating different sounds on the piano in my kitchen and sometimes write poems about them. 😐
(I mean, on the keys)
I don't write on the keys!
_"Non-linearity, or less technically, a surprise."_ Haha, ok that had me actually chuckle out loud. Great delivery.
"Applebite" by Soundgarden kept me up at night. I don't associate songs with creepy unless it's like a soundscape or film score. But man that is the only song that had me look behind me while driving late at night.
I'm not familiar, I'll have to look it up, thanks!
nemoalvaradoTV Great song. Thx. It sounds a Lot like Akira Yamaoka. It is not scary, it's ...unneasy? It uses a lot o desonancy, like grounge usually does.
Trust me, David Sylvian's "Devil's Own" is also really disturbing
12tone: makes video about making creepy music
also 12tone: guMMY bEarS
Hey 12tone, what kind of distortion did you use on that violin sound?
I am creating a soundscape for a short horror film that I shot recently and I found your video really helpful. Thanks!
That mountain at 0:56 says "FAT".
Just sayin'. :P
Heh, yeah, I guess it does... Good catch!
This is the second video I've seen from this channel today and I've already subscribed.
Maybe when you believe it’s all just the wind...
SHIA LABEOUF
Should've mentioned the Psycho theme!
Yeah, the Psycho theme is the most iconic instance of this technique! The sound we used here was actually based on that: Same chord, but played slightly differently so it'd sound better on our digital instruments.
Didn't need to mention it, you thought of it straight away!
I'm loving these videos dude!! Really educational, well explained and really useful. Thanks so much.
Thanks!
Your videos are inspiration for my compostitions. Although it's funny, how many of these tactics we use without even meaning to. Thanks for the info! :)
Thanks! I agree, I tend to think of music theory less in terms of giving people tools and more in terms of figuring out which tools people used, often without realizing it. You can then use those tools yourself, of course, but that's just a bonus!
OMG this video helped me sooooo much! Thanks a lot man, you earned a new subscriber!
WOW! Perfectly explained! So happy to have discovered your channel!
Im alone at home while watching this to help me write for a 'music in horror film' essay that i have to do.... that scream killed me. Thanks :)
I'm watching this video to make music for Christmas
I had this playing in my speaker while I was cleaning and I jumped when the scream played...... I think my neighbors believe I've been murdered +-+
chills...
I think for next Halloween special, you should dissect the Lavender Town song from Pokemon Red/Blue (or Green in Japan) from the original Gameboy. Plenty of creepypastas, memes, and urban legends (suicides, headaches, etc) surrounding that creepy song in a kid's game.
I always found that harmonic minor and the neopolitan minor have a very creepy sound, especially when laid over a 3/4 time signature.
Just gave me the chills by listening to it
As a person who never studied music in my life, I find that the notes that they usually use to create tension are rough and jagged - like if you looked at a VU meter it would look like a rock cliff
Can somebody please help me xD I want to know what a specific sort of horror music is called. It plays in a lot of scenes where they show something like a camera slowly zooming in or turning towars rotten bodies with flies and maggots everywhere. It plays very fast, and in my head it kind of reminds me of Flight of the bumblebee by Korsakov. I don't know if it's played by a string instrument but I would assume so. I've been wondering about this for a while now. I have it on my mind because I definitely think it's one of the most creepier sounds you can put in a horror movie.
Maybe it's a deer. Maybe it's the wind. Maybe it's...
*SHIA LeBEOUF*
this was a great video and it really helped me with my media studies internal!
Thanks!!!
Thanks, glad we could help!
That study is really interesting, thanks for that, my conclusion as to why the addition of benign video may suppress valence response is simply due to the fact that there is nothing scarier than our own imagination. ....oooooooh,wooooh, it's a ghost, i think. .. ROCK ON!
Tbh out of all the black/death/horror punk/metal acts I’ve listened to, nothing is scarier than noise.
this is an underrated video it's so creative!
I've heard convincing arguments that many horror soundtracks intentionally mimic the crying of a baby, likely in a similar vein to the scream. It just projects to the primal subconscious that something's very wrong.
This is amazing, great way to end it 🙂🙂
Thanks! Yeah, that part was fun...
major thanks for this video
Thanks so much! This really helps!
...also investing in a waterphone...
Another great video thank you!
Thanks!
Thanks
so guuuud i luv the doodles
The Link for the study doesn't work :c
First of all, great content really interesting subjects. Second of all I really hope those screem didn't wake up my parents
The Shining is a great example of this!
Evoking fear is well done here.
I want to see you break down the music from Sinister
I watched a psychological show a couple years ago and it said that high frequency songs put us on edge because it mimics a baby's cry of distress, which makes our brain react immediately and give us a surge of adrenaline. Women tend to be more on edge because their brains are hardwired to respond to crying babies.
thanks bro
I did not expect that scream. Nor that one.
TBH the diminished/octatonic scale was kinda made for horror soundtracks
What about the Earthbound music?
Im torn between wondering if this guy is a musical guru. Or just a great artist
Sideways made a video on this and came to a different conclusion. I think the two videos complement, not contradict each other though
I'll have to look it up!
fill those measures in with notes and put a c d and b flat and g flat and f sharp and boom
Ah, this is the part of youtube that I like.
Thanks!
I thought he was going to talk about spooky sounds like when a skeleton is approaching with the tip of his toes from behind :(
Sorry! I might make a video about musical mimicry soon, though, it's a really interesting topic!
Listen to Every 27 Years from the IT (2017) soundtrack. It literally does not of that and is by far the most chilling movie theme ever.
its like a rush of adrenaline transposed to sound
The most frightening sounds are the TikToff ads starting to play.
Buw what about when the melody itself is spooky? Like, why is Lux Aeterna (requiem for a dream) so creepy?!
High-pitched distorted tritones go brrrr
Long and deep (trumpet?) sounds, scare me..
As mentioned with a deep then sudden high tone.
It really shows that jumpscares are mostly noise
John Willams did the opposite in the Jaws' score. John Williams is the man!
Phantom Regiment '08. There was a sudden, jarring chord after someone got "stabbed"
Pff i was expecting music used from creepypasta readers, or that creepy terrifying reversed and/or glitchy music with hidden messages (like in LoZ BotW 2 trailer or Majora's mask creepypasta: Ben Drowned, or shit like ddlc)
Basically music that makes you think "i question reality and my sanity"
music is terrifying when it ends up being glitchy, reversed, and having hidden messages.
I should not have used this to fall asleep at 3:26 AM
Is it handy to grab a pen that way?
I can't be the only one how immediately thinks of the lugia theme from pokemon.
So you've covered what makes songs scary, but what about the features that make a song happy? I find that the kind of music you'd find in a show like Animaniacs or the Mario games is always full of raw joy and makes you feel good, but why?
Wait then how come in some movies, playing beautiful music can scare us too? For example playing a children song on a music box in the dark?
That's probably because you wouldn't expect it, it's unnatural and could hint at something wrong going on
What about the song that plays in silent hill in the beginning when you’re walking down the alley?
Do you mean Macabre? Great piece of music. I think it'd fall under distortion, but I've watched several videos but only this one even begins to mention soundscapes and ambience that make up parts of the Silent Hill soundtracks.
SPOOKY MONTH
yoooou got me on the last one :D
^_^
3:22 is this asmr?
my teacher made me watch this good job
A tip :listen to the end of the minor part of mozarts don giovanni ouverture
vihart style video?
On some points I disagree, have you smashed the lowest keys in a piano fucking spooky
John Coriggliano's Tarantela.
how is the chord scary
I was listening to monk healing music and why does it have to be scary?
as is Jaws
Or you could just use a series of buzzsaw wave digital oscillators with distortions and compose a series of low and high frequencies to create artificial ambient noise and incoherent pseudo voices. The middle frequencies are what give middle ground and security to music. Take that safety away and you have something scary.
Very true! That's something we touched on here but could've gone into more detail about, thanks for pointing it out!
Chord at 0:32 :
I don't even fucking know anymore...
2:21 was "jump up from you seat" level of scary, too.
Good job,
( I guess? )??
^_^
The Monster Mash