Horror films are known for enticing the fear out of an audience, whether that be through slow paced scenes to build the suspense, scenes created to make an audience jump, or fast paced scenes to create tension. However, not many people realise that the 'fear' or 'horror' aspect in these scenes is sometimes only a result of the music chosen to create a spooky atmosphere in these particular scenes. Arguably, some of the scenes stated above in classic horror films are only perceived as being scary due to the music, which suggests that with the sound on mute or a more positive soundtrack chosen to play over the top, the scene may not even be viewed as being a scene from a horror film at all. This is why the right choice of music is very important for a horror film as it determines the overall atmosphere of each scene.
An example to prove this theory is a scene from 'Pirates of the Caribbean' where the music over the same scene is altered several times as Jack Sparrow is challenged with a leak in his boat, each sample of music creates a completely different atmosphere and alters the entire mood and atmosphere for the film clip.
Aside from this theory, as music in horror films is a very important aspect of determining the overall success and feel for the film, it is most usually carefully crafted by music producers during the production of the film combing a selection of non-linear sounds.
Some examples of non-linear sounds range from the shrieks from animals such as fox's etc when they are getting attacked, or the high-pitched squeak from a trumpet when it has air blown through it too quickly. These range of noises are all classed as 'non-linear' sounds and are all scientifically proven to be used in horror soundtracks to create a chilling atmosphere. An example of a classic horror film which uses non-linear sounds in it's soundtrack is the 1980's 'Friday the 13th':
Other musical techniques music producers commonly use in a horror soundtrack is deep, rumbling music as this builds tension and suspense when something dramatic is about to happen. An example of this is the soundtrack for the horror film 'Sinister:
As well as soundtrack music over particular scenes, horror films also like to use sound affects to further chill an audience. These usually consist of harsh, jolting violin noises, blood curdling screams or loud bangs which are commonly used on impact cuts to scare an audience. Here is a video example that demonstrates these said sound affects in horror films, and also shows one example of how to do an impact cut (4.45):
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