Scales/Chords for spooky/Scary type tracks. Examples included.

C

crazybeatz

New member
I've been listening to this producer Johnny Juliano for a while.

A lot of his beats have a really spooky sound to them.
Like something out of a Nightmare Before Christmas type sound.

What scales or chords should i be messing with to get this type of sound?

Ive been messing around with minor scales, and they seem to sound really dark and mean, but not really spooky or eerie if that makes sense.

Here are some examples. thanks

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I always produce beats in a minor scale. They make my beats sound mean and/or sad, depending on what I'm looking for. I have a hard time making beats sound mean and all on a major scale. But I hear augmented chords have a spooky feel to them.
 
OK, most of this is down to melodic choices made from the scale. He seems to be using the harmonic minor scale for melodic writing in certain places, so that it automatically sounds eerie, mysterious, scary:

G-A-Bb-C-D-Eb-F#-G ~ 1-2-b3-4-5-b6-7-8 (relative the major scale) ~ T-S-T-T-S-T1/2-S:

The examples you gave are roughly transcribed here - they all use the harmonic scale as their melodic source.
1st example
Bb minor

[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/scaryMusicPart3-01.mp3[/mp3]

scaryMusicPart3-01.png


2nd example
G minor

[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/scaryMusicPart3-03.mp3[/mp3]

scaryMusicPart3-02.png


3rd example
G minor

[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/scaryMusicPart3-02.mp3[/mp3]

scaryMusicPart3-03.png


Add to this:
  • sound/instrument choice, and
  • rhythmic choices
then you begin to get to the point of creating this style of music.


In addition I offer the following:

A few posts that address this question from a different perspective
https://www.futureproducers.com/for...nd-tyler-creator-assmilk-beat-changes-370068/

https://www.futureproducers.com/for...gn/music-theory-key-song-372972/#post49162297

not directly on topic but relevant at another level (how to use harmony for effect)
https://www.futureproducers.com/for...se-urgency-something-big-372525/#post49158211
 
Last edited:
How i would do.

Well, i'm going to tell you something that you might have heard before.
Its not what you use, but how you use it.

i could drop an example of something i made, and i would define that as " Scary.. creepy..
I still can't link on this page, im new here.

But you can go to youtube and search for " Nordenzgaard - Intro Video " and pick the first video.
- if you cant find it, you can go to my signature.. right below, and click on my youtube channel, and look at it there.
- The video has a white face on it..

The "Main Melody" Is actually just based on a D Minor chord.
This is the main melody: A - D - F - A - D - F - A - D - G - A - D - E - A - D - E - F
There's really nothing else into it..

And then the sounds you're using, also have a pretty important role in this.
what i did, when creating that beat^ above, it was just to think about stuff i find scary.. and something very common in scary stuff, is actually sweet stuff..

Take a look at like ANY horror/thriller movie.. A lot of them uses this " little girl in her room with a little music box playing " and then bam.. the demon's there.

So i found or made, i can't really remember, a music box sound, and some sweet bells, i just picked out the D minor chord, played around with it, until i could imagine a little girl sitting playing with dolls in a horror movie. making the melody loop, and loop.

then i actually looked into some other sort of music, Black metal.
if there's something with demons, trying to be "scary", it has to be Black metal, or death metal.. Basically singing about demon's, Satanism, Necrophilia, Cannibalism etc.

so i toke a look at the band Dimmu Borgir ( a norwegian black metal band ) and i noticed that they're using a lot of choirs! so i thought i gotta go get some choir sounds! (youknow, that typical AAAH AAAH AAAH) .. pretty much reminds me of dooms day.

then i wanted to add some violins, and i created a simple violin for that.. after a while playing around with this, i figured out that i wanted the violins to "scream" in some sorta way, so what i did, was just to make some high pitched spiccato violins.

then i added some effect's like some low ass hits, a girl screaming etc.

i had a main idea.. wich was that little girl, playing with dolls, and getting owned by a demon.

if you're looking into scales.. i would suggest Melodic Minor scale, Harmonic Minor scale, diminished scales..
- Maybe using a Harmonic minor scale, and adding some diminished chords to it.. something like that.

i hope you can use this for anything.
- merry x-mas! Søren.
 
Nordenzgaard said:
Well, i'm going to tell you something that you might have heard before.
Its not what you use, but how you use it.

i could drop an example of something i made, and i would define that as " Scary.. creepy..
I still can't link on this page, im new here.

But you can go to youtube and search for " Nordenzgaard - Intro Video " and pick the first video.
- if you cant find it, you can go to my signature.. right below, and click on my youtube channel, and look at it there.
- The video has a white face on it..

The "Main Melody" Is actually just based on a D Minor chord.
This is the main melody: A - D - F - A - D - F - A - D - G - A - D - E - A - D - E - F
There's really nothing else into it..

And then the sounds you're using, also have a pretty important role in this.
what i did, when creating that beat^ above, it was just to think about stuff i find scary.. and something very common in scary stuff, is actually sweet stuff..

Take a look at like ANY horror/thriller movie.. A lot of them uses this " little girl in her room with a little music box playing " and then bam.. the demon's there.

So i found or made, i can't really remember, a music box sound, and some sweet bells, i just picked out the D minor chord, played around with it, until i could imagine a little girl sitting playing with dolls in a horror movie. making the melody loop, and loop.

then i actually looked into some other sort of music, Black metal.
if there's something with demons, trying to be "scary", it has to be Black metal, or death metal.. Basically singing about demon's, Satanism, Necrophilia, Cannibalism etc.

so i toke a look at the band Dimmu Borgir ( a norwegian black metal band ) and i noticed that they're using a lot of choirs! so i thought i gotta go get some choir sounds! (youknow, that typical AAAH AAAH AAAH) .. pretty much reminds me of dooms day.

then i wanted to add some violins, and i created a simple violin for that.. after a while playing around with this, i figured out that i wanted the violins to "scream" in some sorta way, so what i did, was just to make some high pitched spiccato violins.

then i added some effect's like some low ass hits, a girl screaming etc.

i had a main idea.. wich was that little girl, playing with dolls, and getting owned by a demon.

if you're looking into scales.. i would suggest Melodic Minor scale, Harmonic Minor scale, diminished scales..
- Maybe using a Harmonic minor scale, and adding some diminished chords to it.. something like that.

i hope you can use this for anything.
- merry x-mas! Søren.
Click to expand...

Short version:
Find some good Italian thriller/giallo/zombie soundtracks and listen to anything from Goblin, Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, John Carpenter, Vince Tempera, or Fabio Frizzi for starters.
 
Haha, thanks mate, i also used time on it,
- i actually opened up my FLP file, just to check what chords i used.. etc.

Its nice to be a film geek.. even thought i watch more series, like family guy.. friends, joey.. south park etc.
 
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