Composing Haunting Music

Haunting Music Tips

1. Octave of Terror

One way to create a song which has a scary mood is to hit an octave with your left hand. As octaves by themselves don't really sound minor or major (your brain usually just choose whichever one you're more comfortable with), you need to establish the minor sound with your right hand. I hope you agree that a major sound doesn't really work for creepy music.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's get to work. Let's start by hitting both A notes. Try to hit a low A octave if possible. Probably avoid the very lowest of any minor octave as they really stop sounding scary at that point and just start sounding ugly. That's all for this technique.

2. Chilling Suspense

Now, pressing the right pedal, hit the A octave with your left hand and keep holding it down. Now's where the melody comes in. Create a melody (with your right hand) which uses the notes found in an A minor chord. Try to hit different notes. No double-hitting any notes. Listen for the cold sound which comes from executing this tip perfectly.

3. Ethereal Vapors

When creating the melody with your right hand, use the high notes on the piano. The contrast between the low bass in the left hand and the high notes in the right hand makes for a really eerie sound. Last note--maybe avoid the very highest octave as this doesn't really sound that good.

That's all for now. Come back later with more piano composition advice!