Weird, dark, strange, spooky chords in music.
Ominous tritones, and a Western theme.
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This article describes the structures of a few common spooky chords. As you know, music has a way of conveying color and ambiance to everything; especially music that sounds creepy and foreboding. Some scary, dark, spooky chords can give you chills. So, turn off the lights, close the windows, light a candle and be prepared to be haunted by a few eerie chords in music. Do you like old western movies? Me too!
m#5
The minor-sharp five chord feels "unresolved", as if there should be a more appealing chord to quickly follow, to relieve the tension. Ideally, the minor triad would be a good choice. Here is an "Em#5". Try to imagine an old western movie scenario. The cowboy rides into a dusty, deserted ghost town as he keeps his eyes peeled for any signs of life.
Chord shape - 0 2 2 0 1 x
m add9
The minor-add nine chord has a dark, unforgiving quality to it. If we go back to our cowboy in the ghost town, perhaps he has begun to realize that he is indeed alone and that there are no signs of life. Here is the "Em add9" to add to the spookiness.
Chord shape - 0 7 5 4 7 x
mM9
The minor-Major nine chord has a "cliff-hanger" quality to it. It was used in many vintage detective movies to add a strong sense of mystery to the story. In this case, we can imagine that our cowboy has suddenly discovered a dead body behind the bar in the saloon. Here is the "EmM9" chord.
Chord shape - 0 10 9 8 7 x
M7+
The Major seven-augmented chord feels unresolved and tense. Continuing with our story, perhaps the cowboy discovers clues to the death of the barkeep. Maybe he finds a wanted poster laying next to the body. Maybe the wanted man on the poster is the gunman. Here is the "AM7+" chord.
Chord shape - x 0 7 6 6 4
Let's talk about tritone chords.
A tritone as a chord, is the augmented triad that requires the "I" (root), the "III" (major third) and the "#V" sharped fifth). We can use this idea of the root and the sharped fifth to create two minor chords in a progression that do not belong in the same key, thus creating a very strange and dark tension. Going back to our cowboy, he is digging the grave for the fallen barkeep, in the cemetery just outside of the town. The dusty wind is blowing and the sun is beating down. Here are the "Em" and the "Bbm" chords.
Chord shape - (Em) 0 2 2 0 0 0
Chord shape - (Bbm) x 1 3 3 2 1
The next tritone progression uses the "Am" and the "Ebm" chords. Our cowboy has finished burying the barkeep and looks around to see that he is the only soul for hundreds of miles around. He has to face the elements once again to hopefully find another town with life.
Chord shape - (Am) 5 7 7 5 5 5
Chord shape - (Ebm) x 6 8 8 7 6
The next tritone progression uses the "Dm" and the "Abm" chords. Our cowboy has jumped back up onto his horse and begun to ride off into the proverbial sunset, leaving behind a dead ghost town for which he may never return.
Chord shape - (Dm) x 5 7 7 6 5
Chord shape - (Abm) 4 6 6 4 4 4
Most of these types of "strange" chords do well in context with other chords that lend to the darkness of the chord progression. Going from a resolved chord to an unresolved chord (or vice-versa), can create a desired tension in the story line. This technique has been used in countless movie soundtracks. A really good example of chords that create tension in a movie is the original soundtrack to the opening credits of "Halloween". It also helps to have an odd time signature in the song to create even more tension or unbalance.