{"id":15236,"date":"2021-10-30T09:57:37","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T14:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/?p=15236"},"modified":"2025-10-15T10:24:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T15:24:16","slug":"the-halloween-theme-what-makes-the-music-so-scary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/the-halloween-theme-what-makes-the-music-so-scary\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Halloween\u2019 Theme: What Makes the Music so Scary?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How John Carpenter\u2019s 5\/4 Synth Score Built Relentless Tension and Redefined Horror Film Music<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The following is excerpted from the Berklee Online course Synthesis, Sampling, and Sound Design in Film Scoring: Electronic and Textural Resources<\/a><\/em>, written by Michele Darling<\/a>, and currently enrolling.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The music from the 1978 film Halloween<\/em> was revolutionary, not just because director John Carpenter also composed the score, but because of Carpenter\u2019s adventurous use of early synth pads and stabs, which helped him create one of the most powerful and creepiest soundtracks of all time.
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The late 1970s were a pivotal time for electronic music in the soundtrack format, and music like this was previously the domain of science fiction, but Carpenter discovered that the new electronic sounds lent themselves well to the horror genre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halloween<\/em> was a low-budget film, which cost around $300,000. There weren\u2019t enough funds to pay a film composer, let alone an orchestra. Carpenter had studied music as a kid and played in bands. He then booked a studio in LA and connected with Dan Wyman\u2014and eventually engineer Alan Howarth\u2014to help him realize the soundtrack with synthesizers. The challenge was that they had to record the music without synchronizing it to picture since the technology had not been invented yet. They played and recorded the music to a click and a stopwatch, then matched it up with the film later on the 35 mm mag stock at the film studio. It\u2019s amazing, the score works so well and really captures the horribly frightening vibe perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Director
John Carpenter, left, with technologist Alan Howarth at Pi West Studio<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On his website, Carpenter tells the story of composing for the film:
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\u201c[The script for] Halloween<\/em> was written in approximately 10 days by Debra Hill and myself. I screened the final cut minus sound effects and music, for a young executive from 20th Century Fox. She wasn\u2019t scared at all. I then became determined to \u2018save it with the music.\u2019 I had composed and performed the musical scores for my first two features, Dark Star<\/em> and Assault on Precinct 13<\/em>, as well as many student films. I was the fastest and cheapest I could get.\u201d
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Carpenter has said that his biggest influences as a composer were Ennio Morricone and Bernard Herrmann, the latter of whom is best known for his score for Psycho<\/em>, which is the film that inspired Halloween<\/em>. He says the rhythm of Halloween<\/em>\u2019s main title theme was inspired by an exercise his father taught him on the bongos in 1961, the beating out of 5\/4 time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EARN YOUR MASTER’S DEGREE IN FILM SCORING FROM BERKLEE ONLINE<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a point in making a movie when you experience the final result,\u201d he writes on his site. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s always when I see an interlock screening of the picture with the music. All of a sudden a new voice is added to the raw, naked without-effects-or-music footage. The movie takes on its final style, and it is on this that the emotional total should be judged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the main Halloween<\/em> theme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Main Theme to Halloween<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The main theme from the film is actually very simple yet incredibly memorable. This could be because of its haunting dissonance or its relentless drive. One of the techniques Carpenter uses to make us feel unsteady is the irregular time signature. As he mentioned, the piece is in 5\/4: the syncopation is created with accents in groups of 3, 3, 2, and 2. The initial pace in the groups of three is set, but then is suddenly changed to groups of two, making it feel as if it\u2019s pushing us forward and creating an unsteadiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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