#MUSIC KEYS FOR SCARY MUSIC SERIES#

вЂњThereвЂ™s a vaguely human element to everything, so you can kind of see the original source. In turn, giving us an instrumental soundtrack we understand and twisting it into a nightmare. For his Dead Space score, Graves wanted to match the idea of the Necromorphs once being human with an unnatural orchestral score. But when itвЂ™s done well, it just pays off in spades.вЂќДЄnd when it comes to those noises that will make you tilt your head in fear, horror composers gleefully turn our expectations upside down. So itвЂ™s that additive sort of anxiety that is not necessarily easy to do in an interactive situation like a video game. And of course you have to keep walking down the hall. вЂњSo youвЂ™ve got the silence and then all the other little things that you can add, you know, the strings, a one-string sustain thatвЂ™s just not right and slowly starts bending back and forthвЂ¦ The things that just sort of make you tilt your head a little bit and go, вЂњum no, no, noвЂќ. EveryoneвЂ™s being quiet for a reason because thereвЂ™s something around the corner or in the woodsвЂ¦вЂќ

вЂњBut thereвЂ™s a psychological reason behind that being scary, because if you were in the woods and youвЂ™ve got all these noises and then all the crickets stopped and the birds stop and everything gets completely silent youвЂ™d be like, вЂThatвЂ™s not rightвЂ™. вЂњI think as modern people, weвЂ™ve been trained to understand when things get quiet, itвЂ™s because somethingвЂ™s going to be loud,вЂќ explains composer Jason Graves, whose horror scores include the Dead Space games, Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology. By the very fact weвЂ™re aware weвЂ™re playing in the genre, we have a certain expectation of whatвЂ™s to come вЂ“ so for games to manage to terrify us even in their moments of downtime, itвЂ™s a true achievement. So much of our time in horror games are actually the moments in between.

#MUSIC KEYS FOR SCARY MUSIC SERIES#

TheyвЂ™re really simplistic in the fact that they tend to be a few notes played on a bass guitar or played on a synth вЂ“ maybe even just beaten on a series of tuned drums вЂ“ and just slowly rolling away, giving you that sense of your heart beating as youвЂ™re being chased by whoever the guy with a machete is.вЂќД«ut weвЂ™re not always being chased. I think itвЂ™s the bass lines in a lot of those old horror movies that theyвЂ™re all meant to mimic the repetition of the human heartbeat. ItвЂ™s just that same run of notes again and again. вЂњIf you think about John CarpenterвЂ™s own music for his movies, in particular, the Halloween theme. Brewer, the man behind the joyously schlocky synthy score of VHS B-movie throwback Zombie Army 4: Dead War. вЂњI tend to like the simpler side of horror soundtracks, I think they work better if theyвЂ™re not too complicated,вЂќ explains composer Nick D. And they all have their favourite ways to leave us a quivering wreckвЂ¦ including something as simple as tapping into our own physiology. One thing is clear, though: game composers masterfully tap into a part of our brains in a way thatвЂ™s impossible to fight. ThereвЂ™s no вЂone size fits allвЂ™ approach to building terror, and the genre is bursting gorily with different types of fear. Switch from movies to video games and horror music is no less vital for our favourite scary experiences. ItвЂ™s not a spoiler to say he sorted it with one of the most infamous horror scores of all time. And, most importantly, she wasnвЂ™t afraid. Halloween director and composer John Carpenter famously showed an early cut of his 1978 classic without music to a 20th Century Fox executive. Horror would be nothing without a soundtrack to match. READ MORE: Brony bangers and fanatic fandoms, meet The Living Tombstone вЂ“ the internetвЂ™s biggest gaming band.Is that a violin? ItвЂ™s not like one youвЂ™ve ever heard before. Then why do you feel like this? Like your heart has grown three times in size and every step forward might just be a step closer to an imminent demise? WhatвЂ™s tickling the hairs on the back of your neck? You strain to listen. There is nothing here, only creaking floorboards.

Music keys for scary music