Are you looking for evil sounding chords to use in your music? Now, there are of course different “types” of evil sounding harmonies in music.
And then there are variations of these main types, which you can shape and color with chord inversions, different choices for layering certain notes, weight and instrumentation per voice etc.
Let’s learn the sound of evil chords and harmonies in music! =)
The Most Evil Chords in Music
- C Diminished 7
- D Minor (add b6)
- Dm/G
I would personally make two main distinctions of “evil chords”. The first type is a very dissonant and high tension harmony, very good for creepy atmospheres, scary background music, spooky vibes etc. And the other kind is more about powerful evil, like an evil boss, hardcore villain, demon, monster, or that kind of vibe.
1. Most Evil Chords – Tension and Dissonance
The main thing you need to learn here, are the most dissonant intervals in music, and then build chords and harmonies from those. Here they are:
- Minor 2nd
- Tritone
- Minor 9th
Chords using any of these intervals, such as a diminished chord or an “add b9” chord, or an inversion that creates a minor 2nd interval, will be great for a dissonant and high tension mood in your music.
2. Most Evil Chords – Evil and Powerful
Now the main difference here, is that instead of chaos and dissonance, you create harmonies with a lot of weight on the root and 5th. This is what will create that sense of power. Then you sprinkle in some tension from a minor 3rd, or even a higher tension interval. However, sometimes a classic power chord is even exactly what you need for maximum focus on power. Here are some examples of evil and powerful chords:
- Low Tuned Power Chord
- Minor Chord in First Inversion
- Augmented Chords