# What are some Dark and Spooky sounding scales?



## Xiphos68 (Oct 15, 2009)

I'm in a Halloween music mood.
Been listening to Dark Clouds and Silver Linings

All help is appreciated!


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## Cynic (Oct 15, 2009)

liek aeolian brah!


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## Xiphos68 (Oct 15, 2009)

Cynic said:


> liek aeolian brah!


Sweet dude! Thanks!


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## Deadseen (Oct 15, 2009)

Diminished, whole tone, 12-tone scale, all sorts of chromatic scales, lokrian and sometimes harmonic minor and phrygian.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 16, 2009)

It's "Locrian", and instead of "12 tone scale" it should be "12 tone row."


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## guitarplayerone (Oct 16, 2009)

phrygian dominant.

check out lydian dominant too


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Oct 16, 2009)

Eh, harmonic minor and its modes sound too evil to me to be dark and spooky, if that makes sense. Aeolian with a tasteful flatted fifth added every now and then makes for dark and spooky. Phrygian harmony is always good. I think it's more about how you put it together, though.

This song always struck me as Halloweeny. Unfortunately, I can only find live performances on Youtube, and the vocal part always sucks:



Does he really need to bend up to every note? On a sidenote, look at all that pyro. 

This one makes me think of Halloween, too:


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## Scar Symmetry (Oct 16, 2009)

Augmented (Raised Diminished) is the darkest and spookiest scale I've heard.

It's basically the standard diminished scale but instead of going up by 3 semitones every time you go up 4 semitones each time


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## Bloody_Inferno (Oct 16, 2009)

Not necesarily scales but more chord progressions to solo over:

You can play A Aeolian then raise it a minor 3rd to C Aeolian. 

Play that over Am to Cm. 

Also works backwards from Am to F#m. 


There's also this Japanese scale: 1, b2, 4, 5, b7, 8

The key is to restrain to only those notes. At the same time play some weird chords underneath, say play a minor chord using the b7th as a root note. EG: Scale D Eb G A C D = play Cm.


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## darbdavys (Oct 16, 2009)

Cynic said:


> liek aeolian brah!


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## Scar Symmetry (Oct 16, 2009)

One More Time by Korn strikes me as a Halloweeny song.


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## JohnIce (Oct 19, 2009)

Cynic said:


> liek aeolian brah!


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## Sang-Drax (Oct 19, 2009)

I really dig Mixo b9 b13 (dunno if there's a different name for that in English).

As the name implies, it's Mixolydian with b9 and b13 instead. Not as weird as many of the other suggested here, but easier to fit in. Play it through a dominant chord that resolves to a minor one.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Oct 20, 2009)

Sang-Drax said:


> I really dig Mixo b9 b13 (dunno if there's a different name for that in English).
> 
> As the name implies, it's Mixolydian with b9 and b13 instead. Not as weird as many of the other suggested here, but easier to fit in. Play it through a dominant chord that resolves to a minor one.



Phrygian dominant.


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## LamaSabachthani (Jul 1, 2010)

This might be an incredibly stupid question, but I'm new to the modes: presumably, because all modes have certain formulas (just as the ionian/major does), the 'sound' or 'feel' of the scale won't be affected by whichever root note/scale its derived from, right? Thus B Phrygian (3rd mode of the G Major scale) will have the same feel/sound as say D# Phrygian (3rd mode of the B Major scale), correct? Theoretically speaking, anyways


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## OwainXerath (Jul 1, 2010)

Can't remember the name of it, but I see it as a Harmonic Minor crossed with Phrygian Dominant. 

1 b2 3 4 5 b6 7

There's what I know as the "Locrian Pentatonic"

1 b3 4 b5 b7

(Which is essentially the blues scale without the 5, but it has a completely different feel)

and, if you take a dimishished sequence and shift it up three semitones (as per usual, haha) then drop it down one, up three, down on, up three etc. sounds pretty "spooky"


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Jul 1, 2010)

LamaSabachthani said:


> This might be an incredibly stupid question, but I'm new to the modes: presumably, because all modes have certain formulas (just as the ionian/major does), the 'sound' or 'feel' of the scale won't be affected by whichever root note/scale its derived from, right? Thus B Phrygian (3rd mode of the G Major scale) will have the same feel/sound as say D# Phrygian (3rd mode of the B Major scale), correct? Theoretically speaking, anyways



Yes. Because of equal temperament, every key has the same sound and feel. All major scales are going to sound major, all harmonic minor scales are going to sound harmonic minor, and so on.


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## gr8Har V (Jul 1, 2010)

it would be BLACK clouds & silver linings. good to see another DT fan tho. definately check out both diminished modes(Whole-haf, Half-Whole) whole-tone, and Phrygian, depending on how you want to use it. try phrygian major if you want that middle-eastern egyptian sound.


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