What is a Clavinet? The Clavinet is an electric keyboard instrument developed by Ernst Zacharias, “designed to replicate the sound of a Clavichord without the Clavichord’s inherent wimpiness.”
Hallowe’en is coming up and what better way to celebrate than to play some spooky piano songs in the dead of night? Whether you want to scare your housemates or build an ominous atmosphere, here’s a list —in no particular order—of keyboard-centric spooky songs for this fall.
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The Hallowe’en franchise has been thrilling spooky season movie-goers since the 70s. Part of its appeal lies in its simple yet effective theme. The unnerving chromaticism keeps building and building…but to where?
Stranger Things is a modern phenomenon that Netflix watchers have enjoyed even without the creepy context of Hallowe’en. The opening sequence to Stranger Things is iconic in its 70s aesthetic. The music itself is a simple arpeggiated Cmaj7 chord, but it creates such a delightfully unsettling atmosphere.
The opening notes of Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” are instantly recognizable as the scary tune that dramatically introduces an evil villain. When played on an organ, this piece is also a full-body workout, requiring the organist to play with their feet. There is some dispute over whether the Toccata was actually composed by J.S. Bach.
While not as spooky as many of the other songs on this list, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 is definitely a dark song. It’s also a timeless classic and a rite of passage for many pianists. Curiously, Beethoven didn’t call this sonata “Moonlight;” that was a nickname given by a critic.
If you have a synth, “Sweet Dreams” is a must-play. In Top 10 Keyboard Riffs of the 80s, we play this riff on the JUNO-106. The original may have originally been played on an Oberheim OB-X, Roland JUNO-6, Roland SH-09, or Roland CSQ-100. Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart wrote “Sweet Dreams” after having a big fight.
Another synth powerhouse, “Heads Will Roll” features the aggressive synth sound of a Mellotron Roxy SFX 2 sample. It’s a lively party song about dancing until you’re dead. The A-Trak remix is a particularly famous version of this song.
With its syncopated beats and abundance of chromatic grace notes, there is something unsettling about Erik Satie’s first Gnossienne. Satie added specific notes to the score like “questionnez” (questioning) and “de bout de la pensée” (end of the thought) that give you an idea of what he may have intended.
It’s the ultimate funk song! The iconic twang of “Superstition”’s riff is thanks to the Hohner Clavinet, a sort of electric harpsichord. Fun fact: Stevie Wonder recorded the drums first with no reference but the song in his head, before adding first the keyboard bass line and then the Clavinet.
Liszt’s piano arrangement of Camille Saint-Saën’s orchestral work will make you think of dancing skeletons. It features the infamous tritone (aka an augmented fourth or diminished fifth interval) that has been nicknamed “the devil’s interval” for its unsettling sound.
The titular number from the musical is written by none other than musical theater icon Andrew Lloyd Webber. The story is loosely based on the 1910 novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux, which features a mysterious masked man with a beautiful voice who lives beneath the Paris Opera House.
The third movement of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B Flat Minor, the “Marche funèbre,” is dark yet majestic. It also sounds similar to Darth Vader’s theme. More recently, a marching band version of this piece was played during the funeral procession of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Michael Andrews and Gary Jules’ version of “Mad World” was made famous by Donnie Darko and features a somber, haunting piano part. Disconcerting, existential lyrics make this song cold and foreboding. Perfect for a chilly’s autumn night.
Perfect for advanced pianists seeking an epic challenge, Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit has a reputation for being one of our instrument’s most challenging pieces. Based on a poem by Aloysius Bertrand, its imagery includes mischievous goblins and hanging corpses.
This theme is synonymous with perhaps the most famous franchise of all time, Harry Potter. The introductory celesta captures the magic, mystery, and wonder of the boy wizard before the orchestra swoops in and brings the curious listener on an eerie yet wonderful ride.
You can’t get creepier with a song title like this! With tons of chromaticism, the fourth piece in Prokofiev’s 4 Pieces for Piano uses dissonance in a clever and careful way to build tension while retaining a memorable theme.
A jingling piano introduces us to this whimsical number from Tim Burton’s stop-motion film Corpse Bride. Dancing skeletons and jazzy tunes create a lively if macabre song about how everyone dies one day but that’s okay.
One of Schubert’s most famous and freaky pieces is “The Elf King.” It’s a lied (art song for piano and voice) about a boy who gets murdered by the Elf King while riding a horse with his father. The father, who can’t see the Elf King himself, reassures his child that everything is alright, only to arrive at their destination with a dead son.
Aptly the thirteenth étude in a multi-volume set, Ligeti’s devilish study recalls Escher’s staircase. A notoriously challenging piece, it’s a sinister climb up the keyboard that, like Escher’s illusion, seems to have no end. Which is terrifying.
Pop punk and emo Millennials will instantly recognize the piano intro to My Chemical Romance’s masterpiece, “Welcome to the Black Parade.” Even Andrew Lloyd Webber is a fan of the song’s iconic starting note (which is a G5 by the way).
Cowell’s 1925 ominous oeuvre requires the pianist to play the strings, not the keys, of the instrument, creating a haunting, disembodied sound. This was a pioneering move at the time, and Cowell may have been the first composer to do this, more than a decade before John Cage’s prepared piano. Do check out how this piece is notated.
“In the Hall of the Mountain King” is a tune that even little kids know, but the piano arrangement by Grigory Ginzburg is quite acrobatic and impressive. The piece is from Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, which is incidental (background) music for a play of the same name about a man named Peer who gets captured by trolls.
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Charmaine Li is a Vancouver writer who has played piano for over 20 years. She holds an Associate diploma (ARCT) from the Royal Conservatory of Music and loves writing about the ways in which music—and music learning—affects the human experience. Charmaine manages The Note. Learn more about Charmaine here.
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