Tension-Building and Creepy-Sounding music

A frien of mine made a video for a film festival and knowing that I have composed stuff before has asked me to write for it (and he said if he doens't like it he'll just not use it :P)

It's a creepy, scary short about 14 minutes long and I need well.. creepy tension building music!

I have a general grasp of what to do here, but is there any special advice or any specific notes that really do good? I want to make a good impression on the hundreds of people that will potentially see this film at the festival so all advice is welcome.

Thanks,

-Mathieu

If you can, try to find Franghiz Ali-Zadeh's "Mugam Sayagi". It's got many excellent elements of the type of thing you're going for. It isn't "corny" and "cheap" creepy though, it's more subtle.

If you want something a little more obtainable, Takemitsu's got tons of stuff that would sound right at home in a "creepy" movie.

Lastly, you could always try Bernard Herrman...

I am by no means an expert here but I have found that music that scares me or causes suspense either has alot of dissonance...is fast paced.. or goes the extreme registers and tones of the instruments of the orchestra. (For example the "Physco" theme). I have also found that the bassoon, especially in it's very low registers, can create haunting noises... There's my little input..hope it helped.

^^^I think fast paced is only an option, and not a necessity - for build up, like walking around in a dark forest type thing, slow, quiet, high and dissonant are good guidelines. Like some high minor seconds on a violin would do well...starting quiet and getting louder for instance

Somewhere on youtube there's a video of Stephen Sondheim talking about writing the opening of Sweeney Todd, which is a) all about building tension and releasing it just long enough before building it again, leaving the audience uneasy, and b) written to mimick Bernard Hermann horror movie scores.

I think that some scales can have a building and scary effect. Obviously not the normal scales, but just lines that go up by seconds. Whether they be minor seconds or major seconds. But some combinations can have some awesome effects. Mendelson(I know I'm spelling it wrong) has some cool scales in his music that have these effects.

I like the rattling noise you can make with a wood block...

Ligeti

Ligeti is just scary all the way, there's no build-up to scary. Just a build-up to even more scary.

hmmm.....I got it!

Ligeti soft....then Ligeti loud!

Be careful not to over score it either, keep it simple. A lack of music in the right places can be just as, if not more, unsettling than if you were to score that section.

Be careful not to over score it either, keep it simple. A lack of music in the right places can be just as, if not more, unsettling than if you were to score that section.

Right on! Silence is also music.

"When bitonality strikes!"

Seriously though, whenever someone's listening to a jolly piece of music, or whistling happily, and then something else sinister starts playing simultaneously....

This is a bit more on the production side, but I believe it's all interrelated: what creeps me out are dissonant melodies that sound so distant and quiet that it's hard to actually grasp the melody itself, and the listener can only kind of get a faint idea of it. I love that stuff.

Distant, quiet clockwork rhythm sounds cool too.

Try odd time-signatures. For example: The halloween theme song is in 10/8.

Dissonance is a must. Stacked seconds and diminished chords are good. Try the diminished scale for melodies. For example: A-Bb-C-Db-D#-E-F#-G

If you really want to creep the audience out, you start with creepy music and then at the height of creepiness in the movie you break into the most disgustingly happy music and add some extremely high instruments, like a really screechy violin.

If you really want to creep the audience out, you start with creepy music and then at the height of creepiness in the movie you break into the most disgustingly happy music...

Lol. I don't think I agree with that. That would just distract. I'm pretty sure, I'd just break out in laughter. I mean, you would suprise your audience, but yeah. It would just be hilarious.

Something ambient maybe? Like some of the pieces Jeremy Soule composed for the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The cave/ruin/fort-exploration music is just plain creepy lol.

If you wish: Game Music Hall - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion soundtrack

The songs: "Wind from the depths", "Tension", "Ancient Sorrow", "Unmarked Stone" and "Deep Waters". Those specifically.

I hope this helps.

get the violin to play a high C without vibrato for about 5 bars, and then add a C# to it, and then a D, and then switch to another tecnique. yes, i know its probably not going to be the most pleasant sound ever, but it works......