A dose of dissonance, dread, and the Devil's Interval.
So, you may remember that a few weeks ago I decided to start a new segment/category of posts called Macabre Music, where I learn about Halloween, Horror-related, or otherwise creepy music. Last time, I learned about the history of horror punk, a sub-genre created almost singlehandedly by The Misfits. This time, we're dropping the punk part and looking at horror – or, more specifically, what makes classic horror movie soundtracks so scary.
One of the first "classic" horror movie soundtracks to shock and scare audiences was the theme from Psycho. Written by Bernard Herrmann (also known for his work on Taxi Driver, Vertigo, and the original Twilight Zone theme) and featuring a now-famous screeching string section, the Psycho theme set the stage for horror music for years to come. But what made it so scary? Well, the theme utilizes dissonance – non-complimentary notes that don't make a pleasant chord, and end up sounding "wrong" as a result. This dissonance gives the notes a "rough texture" that's reminiscent of an alarm, almost mimicking Marion Crane's screams. The piece features entirely strings, with Hermann describing it as a "black and white score" to accompany the black and white film. It also uses repetition; there's a simple, striking leitmotif that plays over and over again.
These techniques have all been used in other horror soundtracks as well. John Williams' theme for Jaws features the same two notes repeated continuously at different speeds. Like with the Psycho theme, these two notes don't make a neat chord, but rather sound incomplete and off, leaving the listener anxious and unsure f how or when the song is going to resolve. As the tension builds, the song gets faster and faster – but still, it's those same two notes, unresolved. Where Herrmann used strings, Williams' score uses a wider range of instruments; lots of low brass contrasted with higher, tinkly sounds. The theme is rich and bright, drawing on the sound of golden era movie themes.
John Carpenter's theme for Halloween also uses dissonance and repetition – but it also uses another interesting technique: the piece is written in 5/4 time. If you're not familiar with time signature, this essentially means that each bar features 5 quarter notes instead of the more typical 2, 3, or 4, and as a result, sounds odd and a little unbalanced. The combination of this unusual time signature with the low synth, high piano, and repetitive melody leaves the listener with a sense of dread and unease; something about this piece isn't quite right.
The themes from both Psycho and Jaws, among others, have been theorized to be inherently scary to us because the sound like the cries of distressed baby animals. This type of noise, chaotic nonlinear sound, triggers our need to protect the "wounded animal" – or, in the case of many horror movies, the dying victim onscreen.
One particularly old technique for making music sound creepy is the use of the tritone, or "devil's interval". This interval – F and B played at the same time – sounds unnatural and strange. The term "devil's interval" originates from the older term "Diabolus in Musica", which dates back to the Middle Ages. Its use at the time was limited due to its association with the devil, but it can be heard in intentionally creepy songs, such as Danse Macabre.
So, to summarize, if you want to write a scary piece of music, you should use the following techniques: create dissonant tones, use chaotic nonlinear sound to mimic the cries of baby animals, have a repeated leitmotif that plays throughout the song, and use the devil's interval to invoke fear in your listeners.
Which horror movie themes do you think are the scariest? What do you think makes them so effective? Let me know in the comments below!
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