Dark chord progressions anyone?

[lateralus778]

This should be fun:
What's the darkest chord progression you've heard?

Personal question:
What makes the progression itself dark? Is it fact that it's minor or what?

[mistertoast]

Yeah, usually. But that's not all it is. After all, there are lots of minor key dance songs that are really "up" and happy.

[Km7]

not only minor sound.. dissonances, tempo, timbre and devices such as organ point and ostinato are factors as well..

[lateralus778]

hmmm.... when i say "dark", i dont necessarily mean "suspensful" or "frightening", but more like "insanely depressing". Pretty much the vibe i get from Pettersson's 9th Symphony. If anyone can relate to that...

[Bernard Quatermass]

I find anything by Britney Spears "insanely depressing".

[lateralus778]

I find anything by Britney Spears "insanely depressing".

very very true. I cried myself to tears when she shaved her head...

[Toxikator]

Dark != depressing.

Dark is like the harmonic minor, it's spooky and brooding.

Depressing is like the natural minor, it's mellow and directionless and soft, and kind of downtrodden.

[alanbanana]

I find anything by Britney Spears "insanely depressing".

[JumpingJackFlash]

This should be fun:
What's the darkest chord progression you've heard?

Personal question:
What makes the progression itself dark? Is it fact that it's minor or what?
when i say "dark", i dont necessarily mean "suspensful" or "frightening", but more like "insanely depressing".

Well yeah, if you want depressing without suspenseful or frightening, then lots of minor chords are probably your best bet.

Also, as others have said, tonality is just one factor.

Instrumentation also plays a huge role. - Minor chords from the string section will sound different to a brass section, which will sound different again to a strumming banjo! Strings are always a good bet when you want something depressing, but it still has to be orchestrated and played in the right way. - Register and use of vibrato can make a huge difference.

Tempo can also make a huge difference. - Slow things are generally more depressing than fast things for example.

There are many other things too; descending movement might sound more depressing than ascending movement for example.
Something in 6/8 or other compound time signature is less likely to sound depressing than something in 4/4.

Also texture: Sometimes a solo violin can sound incredibly depressing, other times a large groups of instruments can be made to sound so (dependant on the skill of the composer). Use of dynamics also plays a part, and there are so many other factors to consider too

[SonnyBonnier]

C / C or F / C / C
F / F / C / C
G / F / C / C or G

[BrufordRules]

The first one that comes to mind is the intro of Starless by King Crimson.

Cheers!

[lateralus778]

Thanks for all the responses!
I actually hadnt even considered instrumentation, as well as the fact that there are "harmonic" and "natural" minors and all that stuff. No music theory, ever. Period. That's my depressing story lol.
hoping to hear even more on this! Thanks!

[Toxikator]

Okay, for "dark" sounds use this scale:

A B C D E F G# A (NOTE: you can transpose this scale wherever you like. I did it this way since it's much easier to understand than trying to explain it in terms of whole steps and half-steps.)

The chords are made from every OTHER note, so ACE, BDF, CEG#, DFA, EG#B, FAC, G#BD.

For "sad" sounds use this scale:

A B C D E F G A (again, transposable, but would you really want me to say whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, etc.?)

The chords are exactly the same as the other form, except the G# is now G.

So ACE, BDF, CEG, DFA, EGB, FAC, GBD.

if you write a progression you really like in one you can lower the G#s and hear the diff. Of course, the real skill in using the minor is selectively interchangeing the forms; a common trick is to NEVER use the G# except in the EG#B or G#BD(F) chords; it avoids the particularly dark sound of the CEG# augmented chord, and makes the melody more natural sounding, while still creating strength and harmonic tension in the V-I motion (V-I means moving from EG#B to ACE, which is much more powerful than EGB to ACE... not that power is everything, but there you go).

[tee boy]

I think the way the harmony is presented plays equally as important a role as the chords themselves.

If you want it dark, the have it playing low down, with dense intervals. Have it mezzo piano, maybe with deep strings.

A pedal can sometimes destable the harmony, making more tense and in need of resolution.

Try to incorportate more dissonance, in both the chords themselves and the progression. Chords that have the root movement of a tritone sound great imo. So C#m - Gm should sound pretty dark!

TB

[Polite Company]

Dark != depressing.

Dark is like the harmonic minor, it's spooky and brooding.

Depressing is like the natural minor, it's mellow and directionless and soft, and kind of downtrodden.

That says things pretty well.