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COMP TRACKS IN REAL-TIME WITH OUR VIDEO PREVIEW TOOL
| | Fast - Find the right music faster by comping tracks with your video online |
| | Private - Videos load instantly and are never stored on our server! |
| | Multiple Sources - Use videos from your device or videos online! |
Learn more about our video preview tool HERE
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DownloadRoyalty Free Halloween Music
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Music for Halloween
The best music for Halloween has to be scary in one way or another, right?
Just like playing a spooky prank on someone, there are different ways to be effective.
Not that we are advocates of pranking, we wouldn't dream of it, unless it's Halloween that is...
Sometimes a prank is a slow burner; other times, you just want to jump out from behind the curtains and scream your head off.
What we are saying is that it's the same with music, there are different ways to get the desired effect.
Minor Details
If Major keys are bright and happy, it makes sense that Minor keys are dark and creepy.
That's a bit of a generalization, but it's a good starting point.
Let's look at some suitable scales and modes that can create an eerie atmosphere.
First up is the harmonic minor scale, which is just like the major scale, but the 3rd and 6th notes are flat.
The flat 3rd is what gives the scale it's overall minor quality, but the flat 6th combined with the major 7th is where it gets exciting.
Don't worry if you don't understand the theory, all you need to know is that the harmonic minor scale creates tension, tension makes you feel uneasy, and that sums up Halloween.
The Locrian mode is another one that creates a lot of tension.
To understand what the Locrian mode is, you can go from one B to another an octave above playing only white keys.
The root (1st) chord in the Locrian mode is a diminished triad, so naturally, it feels unresolved.
Again, you don't need to understand music theory fully; just imagine a major scale resolves to feel at home, and the Locrian mode never quite gets there.
It's an unusual sound, and while it doesn't have the obvious darkness of the harmonic minor, it lingers in uncertainty far longer.
How Much Aggression is Enough?
If you're taking the less subtle approach, then genres like death metal can be perfect.
Think of Slipknot in their prime, would you really want to be stuck in a dark room with that cranked up to 10?
The feeling that this approach creates is one of certainty that something not so nice is waiting for you.
It's the Notes You Don't Play That Matter
Anyone who has ever had a music teacher has likely heard the following statement at some point.
The notes you don't play are just as important as the notes you do play.
What it means is that as a musician, you need to know when less is more, and when to relax.
In a Halloween setting, you can think of it in much simpler terms.
If you are having second thoughts about walking into that dark room, silence can be scarier than any music.
Quite often, silence is the creepiest soundtrack, but it needs a nudge in the right direction now and then.
That's why tracks with lots of airy space make some of the scariest movie soundtracks ever.
Check out our library of scary royalty-free music, and don't forget to use our exclusive video preview tool.