I was watching the intro to the tv show *Carnival Row (2018)* and noticed that the end of that intro very clearly elicited images of a dark/abandoned carnival aesthetic in my mind. Then I remembered other instances where the music gave off that “vibe”. So, I wondered what musical elements make a tune sound this way? Examples include:
[Carnival Row Opening Credits](https://youtu.be/aOvzBh73ND8)
especially from 0:58-1:08
[Dumbo Pink Elephants on Parade](https://youtu.be/jcZUPDMXzJ8)
[The Flash CW Soundtrack – The Trickster](https://youtu.be/FugnBqLx8oE)
[Jester’s Playground Creepy Circus Music](https://youtu.be/EHvsApnM5Vo)
While looking on YouTube, that last one came up and it fit the bill perfectly! I mean, it’s even titled “Creepy Circus Music”, so clearly other people intuitively get what falls into this category, but I’m wondering what specific elements make for creepy circus music?
A few things I’ve noticed are that the songs seem to be in a minor key, instruments include bells or a triangle, violin music, and a steady beat.
At the beginning of some of these songs you could almost confuse them with dramatic Christmas music, but the tune soon lets you know there’s something dark and ominous afoot. I suppose that’s thanks to the minor key.
I’m not sure if this question would be better suited for another subreddit, if so, feel free to point me in their direction.
EDIT: I found [this](https://youtu.be/l-mLce8_dws) piano cover of the Carnival Row song and I caught an Eb and Db in the melody towards the end, but the sheet music on another website had the key down as having Eb and Bb meaning the scale is probably Bb major and the Db was just added to give it a minor flair at that point in the melody.
I haven’t listened to the other songs as closely, but could this be a theme throughout all the songs? That they’re all in major keys with a note or two dropped in from the minor key? I think this adds to their creepy/dark nature. They’re not cheerful like a song in a major key nor sad like one in the minor; the songs themselves seem two faced which, as far as this trail of thought goes, makes me think of mirror rooms at carnivals— many faces.
In: Other
These aren’t all that creepy. With that said what probably unnerves you comes down to the extreme ranges, melodic and harmonic dissonances, and various production effects. Here’s what I mean:
These pieces make use of the violin’s upper range, also bells and other high pitched instruments. There’s often little to nothing balancing out those high notes, and sometimes they’re even paired with extremely low notes, like the tuba in the dumbo song.
I’m not going to analyze it much but there are lots of melodic dissonances (when the melody uses dissonant intervals) and harmonic ones (when the melody is dissonant with a counter melody).
With that you get things like ambient noise, reverb etc. to give the impression of an abandoned park or whatever. Which is more unnerving than the actual music imo.
Yes they’re all in minor keys but not natural minor. Some of those melodic dissonances come from half steps and leading tones. Also don’t look at notes and keys. Look at notes in relation to each other and in relation to the final center. A brick in Japan is the same as a brick in the US, it’s how they’re used that matters.
In music there is a concept known as dissonant sounds. These occur when you play certain notes together. They are typically slightly unsettling unless framed properly within the song. Using this the composer will recreate a song that is similar to a circus song in notes and pitch but filled with dissonant chords. Combined with variations in speed and pitch, the music can make your brain associate it with creepy.
*edit: the opposite of dissonant is consonant and these chords sound good together as opposed to the jarring dissonant sounds.
Latest Answers