The Scary Music Machine

Debi

Owner/Admin
Staff
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
240,747
Reaction score
232,164
Points
315
Location
South of Indy

Discover the Apprehension Engine: Brian Eno Called It "the Most Terrifying Musical Instrument of All Time" | Open Culture

Apart from the occasional Blair Witch Project, scary movies need scary scores. But much like making a genuinely scary movie, composing genuinely scary music becomes more of a challenge all the time. By now, even the most timid moviegoers among us have surely grown inured to the throbbing bass, the tense strings, and all the other standard, increasingly clichéd instrumental techniques used to generate a sense of ominousness. Given the ever-growing pressure to come up with more effectively dread-inducing music, the invention of the Apprehension Engine was surely inevitable. A part of the studio of film composer Mark Korven, it looks unlike any other musical instrument in existence, and sounds even more so.

With a normal instrument, says Korven in the Great Big Story Video above, "you're expecting it to have a sound that is pleasing." But with the Apprehension Engine, "the goal is to just produce sounds that, in this case, are disturbing." What we hear is less music than a sonic approximation of the abyss itself, which somehow emerges from his manipulation of a variety of strings, bars, wheels, and bows attached to a wooden box — as analog a device as one would ever encounter in the 21st century. "I originally commissioned the Apprehension Engine because I was tired of the same digital samples, which resulted in a lot of sameness," says Korven. "I was looking for something more experimental, more acoustic, that would give me a little more of an original sound."
 
So cool. I am fascinated with the imagination of some people. The next time I watch a scary movie, I'm going to be picturing this guy sitting in his studio with his violin wand/bow on this instrument.
 
  • Like
Reactions: garnetsilver
Brian Eno. There's a name I haven't heard in a while. His collaborations with Bob Fripp were mind expanding.
R-130975-1353335498-6186.jpeg.jpg
Who can forget "Swastika Girls"?
 
  • Like
Reactions: garnetsilver
I didn't find any of those sounds particularly scary; more interesting than anything. But then, perhaps if listened to while actually viewing a scary movie, I would feel differently!
 
Some of the sounds were sort of like nails on a chalkboard and annoying. People have reactions to sounds on both the top end and the bottom end of our normal hearing range. I suspect that it has to do with the more primitive parts of our instinctive heredity. The low frequency of a growl and the high-end sounds such as in a screech of a predatory bird are both seen at an unconscious level as threats. By combining the two it may be possible to create strong emotional responses but the "best" frequency may vary slightly from person to person. The military has actually been working with this as a possible weapon or a crowd control tool for a long time.
 
Some of the sounds were sort of like nails on a chalkboard and annoying. People have reactions to sounds on both the top end and the bottom end of our normal hearing range. I suspect that it has to do with the more primitive parts of our instinctive heredity. The low frequency of a growl and the high-end sounds such as in a screech of a predatory bird are both seen at an unconscious level as threats. By combining the two it may be possible to create strong emotional responses but the "best" frequency may vary slightly from person to person. The military has actually been working with this as a possible weapon or a crowd control tool for a long time.
Interesting point! Possibly it explains why unwanted, very loud bass music triggers my senses negatively. Also, loud truck engines.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ultima Thule
unwanted, very loud bass music triggers my senses negatively. Also, loud truck engines.
I have the same reaction. And I think you really struck the key word here; and that is 'unwanted'. For that same loud bass music can be quite stimulating on the dance floor, at a concert or when I am cranking up my own stereo. It's the same when I'm driving a car or truck with a manual transmission, strong engine and loud, throaty pipes. Put those two together and I'm in ecstasy. The difference is that under those conditions these sounds are 'wanted'. I'm in control, receptive to it and completely in tune with the vibrations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: garnetsilver
I have the same reaction. And I think you really struck the key word here; and that is 'unwanted'. For that same loud bass music can be quite stimulating on the dance floor, at a concert or when I am cranking up my own stereo. It's the same when I'm driving a car or truck with a manual transmission, strong engine and loud, throaty pipes. Put those two together and I'm in ecstasy. The difference is that under those conditions these sounds are 'wanted'. I'm in control, receptive to it and completely in tune with the vibrations.
You nailed it!