Top 10 Most Shocking Chords in Music!

[@JoshuaWillis89]

Music copyist: Hey, Gustav. What’s this chord supposed to be? Mahler: The sound of my soul.

[@ramprasada7451]

That went deep

[@mr.macintosh8559]

That Three Screaming Popes chord is terrifying. It sounds exactly how the paintings look.

[@Returnality]

Honestly, that Bach one freaked me out a lot more than any of the others

[@mutantbananas1]

It's honestly dark

[@BenjaminGessel]

Bach is HARD CORE...

[@JoshuaWillis89]

It’s the context. I think the Ligeti is absolutely horrifying because of how long it goes on for. It’s less of a scream and more the tragic wailing of doomed souls.

[@mmmicroplastics]

yeah it scared the pants off of me

[@Pwecko]

I agree. It's stunning.

[@TheTroubadourRecords]

Hey Bruce, I just love how the aesthetics of this video reminded me of the 80's MTV. Truly horrific experience to all of our five senses :D

[@DBruce]

haha! It was a nostalgia trip for me from British TV - Top of the Pops 80s/90s

[@TheTroubadourRecords]

@@DBruce I'd give it a look if I weren't scared enough. Next year, maybe...

[@jamesdepoorter726]

@@DBruce Aaah.. Paul Hardcastle’s The Wizard (never waste a good sample) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qanYZ3huhK17fJY

[@markowalski1]

I was watching some MTV Cribs clips and the editing genuinely made me nauseous lmao

[@mitchellwilliam95]

What does MTV taste like?

[@groofay]

I'd give the Mahler 10 chord at least a 9 for distinctiveness. I first heard it over a decade ago, and it still gets me to this day. And I would give Gesualdo at least an honorable mention.

[@tonescape1]

I agree. In fact I would give the Mahler 10 chord a 10 for distinctiveness, because it was unique when he wrote it and it really can't be copied.

[@michaeltres]

Context is everything. The C-major chord with the soprano's high C at the opening of the fifth door in Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle still sends a chill down my spine. The first time I heard it, years ago, I found it absolutely shocking. The chord alone would be innocuous, but the music leading up to it in no way prepares the listener for that moment, and when it arrives-there are no words for it.

[@demiurge2501]

Where can I find this?

[@michaeltres]

@@demiurge2501 : There's a clip on KZbin of the 4th and 5th doors with Jessye Norman and Peter Fried. The relevant passage begins around 3:08 in the clip. The problem is, the effect of the passage stems from all that went before it. Watch the whole opera. It's fantastic.

[@jeroenl8352]

*Welcome to WatchMojo, today we will count down the 10 scariest chords.*

[@vadim4252]

Grapjas

[@stefan1024]

@The Tired Horizon It's Cracked. They're back! ;)

[@jacobbritton7359]

Number 10: D minor

[@truthseeker4690]

Where is The Shining?

[@WayneKitching]

@@vadim4252Weird to see a word that could be in my 1st language (Afrikaans) Is it Dutch?

[@DanielVodenitcharov]

The Salome chord was tragically romantic to me, like if sin was put into musical form. A desire so strong yet needing to be extinguished through sin.

[@aaronclift]

As soon as I saw the video title, I thought: “Ligeti has to be number 1.” His music is a big part of the reason why “2001” and “The Shining” are such tense films.

[@TheNumberOneNerd]

Imagine being such a good musician your last name is "Composer"

[@stefanparrott]

The Mahler chord has always been a 10 in chills for me personally. Especially when it comes back right when you think its gone.

[@AGMundy]

Indeed and the stillness that proceeds it makes it for me one of the most thrilling and compelling moments in all music. It is almost too much to bear. That symphony is an astonishing emotional experience, the flute solo in the final movement.....

[@iiXalexXii]

The THX sound gets 11s across the board.

[@JoonasD6]

Darn it; I thought it would've been on the list. :(

[@ltrizzle12]

F yeah son

[@ttp911]

Just incredibly obnoxious algorithmically created shite.

[@JoonasD6]

@@ttp911 The THX theme? Nah, it has taken a lot of composing, like almost any other "jingle". Some randomness doesn't delegate composing to an algorithm. Here's the sheet: images.app.goo.gl/kuVxmmn5V68b5XWF7

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

@@ttp911 > algorithmically > analog synth

[@hoangkimviet8545]

Yeah, I listened to this video before sleeping.

[@jackkings]

Me too

[@chromaticswing9199]

2kool4skool

[@handsumsquidwad1208]

Oh a fellow Vietnamese

[@paxmusica]

Welcome to the Salty Spittoon.

[@jackkings]

@@paxmusica thanks

[@deadvolume]

"This isn't a standard nativity scene, she's just committed necrophilia" Well that's not exactly a phrase I was expecting to hear when I got out of bed today...

[@rorydillon7572]

I went into the comments looking for this, ahaha.

[@bonbonpony]

01:04 In other words, Bach did a jumpscare before it was cool :q

[@organ444]

Haydn "Surprise", eat your heart out!

[@Philipp_K]

I always get the chill in the Adagio of Bruckners 9th symphony. The three culminations of this movement are really something! I know it's tough to filter some really distinctive sounds and chords, because there are so many. Great list though!

[@pkurokawa]

Thank you for this, Mr. Bruce! The old adage “you’ve got to learn the rules before you can break them” is demonstrated here so well (setting the scene, degrees of dissonance, emotional shock value . . .)

[@gforce08666]

That Bach chord, though :O

[@ErebosGR]

Maybe it's because it was played first, but that shook me the most. Turnage's was a close second.

[@Nooticus]

^^^ St Matthew Passion is truly one of the most emotional things ever created by humankind!

[@jacksonp2397]

The chord from your opera genuinely gave me chills. Bravo!

[@DeclanMBrennan]

I thought I recognized Ligeti's Requiem. It opens up the second movie I saw in the cinema as a young child - "2001 a Space Odyssey" - just this music and a completely black screen. The terror and power of the unknown that it conjured up is still woven into my psyche after all these years.

[@mentalitydesignvideo]

"Mahler by the nose, Beethoven edging in the final stretch, Ligeti in the lead - the thoroughbreds are showing their best form in this heat"

[@juno2884]

The final Chord in "Threnody To the Victims of Hiroshima" makes the beginning sound light and cheery. You should've mentions that. Besides that, this list is great. 👍

[@Naeddyr]

Fun fact I learned recently: Ligeti was born in Transylvania.

[@vinylarchaeologist]

Technically so did Béla Bartók... ...and Bela Lugosi.

[@GreenTeaViewer]

@@vinylarchaeologist Bartók was born in the Banat region of the Kingdom of Hungary, not in Transylvania.

[@vinylarchaeologist]

@@GreenTeaViewer It is often referred to as part of Transylvania from an administrative viewpoint. That is why I used the word “technically”. Since Bartók's birthplace is now part of Romania, it is also part of Transylania in the broader sense. See the beginning of this article and the map: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania

[@IvanBogdanReincke]

@@vinylarchaeologist bro in this dispute it don’t matter where the borders are now 😂 you have to check the borders from 1881, bartok was born in hungarian kingdom.

[@fidulario]

@@IvanBogdanReincke János Hunyadi, regent-governor of the Kingdom of Hungary, was voivode of Transylvania, and Vlad Țepeș himself fought the Ottomans by his side.

[@FreeBroccoli]

I always refer to the first chords of Smashmouth's All Star as "Shrekinfanfare."

[@suburbanindie]

I don't even know what to say... I'm amused and disappointed at the same time

[@lordchameleon2650]

0:44 Oh my old friend Bach, we met again... I remember the calmness and (sort of) boring part that was going on in Mattheus Passion and than this "BARRABAM!" and then "Lass ihm kreuzigen". It's like a gun fire in theater just before you fall asleep.

[@noahgodard3338]

That moment in Mahler 10 is fantastic. Adams clearly took some inspiration in writing the second movement of Harmonielehre ...

[@materedai4158]

I know I'm late but you gave 40 points for a Hungarian artist. I'm a Hungarian guy born in 2000, so I'm young, but sometimes life feels like those sounds in this country.

[@favor_play]

Wow, it's my first time listening to music outside of Korea on KZbin, and I really enjoyed it. You give me a lot of inspiration. I want to hear it often from now on. Thank you.

[@kenvyn123]

I would have had the whole piece “eight songs for a mad king” by Peter maxwell Davies. That whole thing gives me the chills!

[@ConvincingPeople]

Julius Eastman's performance on the original recording is absolutely extraordinary. He was essentially a self-taught singer, too.

[@josephalvarez5315]

Amazing piece. I thought it was totally crazy, but I just couldn't stop playing it. Like looking at a car crash: you know it's horrible, but you can't stop looking

[@anonagain]

Thanks - I just watched the Playground Ensemble's performance of it here on YT. Now I won't be able to sleep.

[@AtomizedSound]

Never heard of it but I will check this out!

[@ruudvermeij5565]

I am not a very emotional guy (well, maybe I am when it comes to music...), but when I heard penderecki's threnody, I needed 10 minutes to recover.

[@cesareangeli6653]

May I suggest the St. Luke Passion and the Capriccio for Oboe and Strings by the same composer?

[@Nooticus]

Yep, im pretty sure it was the St Luke’s Passion that had far shocking choral chords than any of these 10, but I need to double check!

[@Scheater5]

The definition of "silence" is what happens when the Threnody is over (assuming you're listening on headphones, and not to applause in a theater). Seriously - the first time I listened to it all the way through, I was gobsmacked at the lack of sound when it was over. It was oppressive. Palpable. Like I had never truly heard void before that moment.

[@mogmason6920]

I’ve been working on an opera of my own for a year and a half now, based on Grimm’s Rapunzel, with a self-penned libretto in Welsh. I’m going for more of a late-romantic/Wagnerian type of opera and I have decided to work heavily on a single “scream” chord, which will be a leitmotif that represents the Witch in the story. Your videos have been a great help amongst the world of amateur composers like myself.

[@rowanbelt3612]

That sounds like a very exciting project! Would be interested to hear it…

[@NicklasJazzström]

The ''Northern Lights'' chord in Cantata for Wartime by Ernst Krenek is quite the collector's item.

[@michaeltroke7239]

I love this stuff; a combination of erudition and fun. Keep these analyses coming, many thanks.

[@me_is_hobo]

8:33 is when the cockroach starts flying

[@jockojohn3294]

The most shocking cord in music is the one where you never reset your ground lift and you became a resistor between the wet stage floor and your guitar.......

[@auldthymer]

Like when Midsomer Murders electrocuted Suzi Quatro!

[@thisklik]

😂😂😂😂😂😂👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@elfinfini]

I'm surprised that you did not inclued one of the terrifying Messiaen Chords, he have so many.

[@jimslancio]

I agree. Nobody could add extra notes to a chord like Messiaen.

[@elfinfini]

@LeftRight Right on!! i have nothing left to say.

[@youmothershouldknow4905]

Truth!

[@ThomasNimmesgern]

6:28 "a proper 2020 run of luck" Brilliantly said!

[@ha3vy]

I think the one in Schnittke's Violin concerto 4 (before the visual cadenza) is worth mentioning too, it's just great

[@narayana8249]

I love that Bach chord... Shocking but beautiful in a way, all while feeling wonderful in the context of the music. But then how could I not, when I love the Matthew Passion so damn much

[@mestremusico]

Beethoven's chord can be easily explained by the text sung by the baritone. " O Freunde, nicht diese Töne Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen Und freudenvollere"

[@Bladavia]

Yep, I was close to shitting myself when I watched 2001 for the first time. The music + the monolith was terrifying.

[@JB-dm5cp]

I always find the outbreak at '26 (Andante)' in the Adagio of Mahler 10 more frightening than the 'scream' (27-29 in the score) itself. Especially in the recording with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle (on EMI, now Warner). I find it so horrifying, that most of the time I have to turn the volume way down. Its power will never fade for me, because of its feeling of complete and utter horror and despair. The Kyrie from Ligeti's Requiem is indeed awesome in its despair/horror/fear as well. Possibly my 'favorite'. Even Lovecraft's cosmic horror writings feel not as bleak as that music.

[@JoshuaWillis89]

That moment in The Eroica is one of my favorite moments in all of classical music. It’s just all the feels.

[@LestatAlone]

I was fortunate enough to see the Ligeti piece performed live during a performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Ann Arbor. They were playing all of the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey with the movie playing on a huge screen behind the orchestra. It was a truly amazing experience, and the effect of the choir is indescribable in person. Speakers hardly do it justice.

[@johnenock7939]

"The school term has just started". Already enough information to initiate a screamo of extreme dissonance. (from a retired teacher).

[@johnmackenzie3030]

Thank yuoso much David for bringing this to us. You are a very bright man!

[@VocalEdgeTV]

I’m very glad you included your own work in this list! Fantastic.

[@ltrizzle12]

The final chord of Poulenc’s “Melancholie”?!?! That Bbb (A natural: the flat 6) added to the final Db chord paralyzes the listener with such imbalance, it’s borderline sacrilege.....but got damn he committed to it. Both fascinates and haunts my ear. Utterly riveting.

[@simonpaulaustin]

It has always astonished me how major 7ths (and by inference minor 2nds) can either be extraordinarily jarring or extraordinarily beautiful depending on the context. A surprise is a fantastic musical device worth using a lot in my opinion. I look forward to the day when someone analyses any of my pieces with an academic analysis of what the chord is when in fact I just wrote in some deliberate dissonance. This is great not only for shock as in most of these examples but also for other reasons like humour or just to ensure you are going to get the audience's attention

[@wardka]

I remember first hearing Ligeti's Requiem in its excerpted form as an impressionable 11 year old watching 2001: a space odyssey in the original Cinerama release. I did not know it was music. I thought it was a sound effect, but my palms were bleeding I was clenching my fists so hard with fingernails digging into my hands. It was doubtless the most terrifying moment in any film I had seen up to that time. Unprecedented.

[@rainscratch]

My dad, a violinist, who had never seen the movie, used to enjoy the soundtrack album of '2001' until the Ligeti pieces started, whereupon he would exclaim 'Oh Sh^t' !

[@stefan1024]

Thank you! I needed this

[@goblinhairedguy]

Brilliant piece! Thank you. I did not know the Mahler chord. Great backstory. And I was mesmerized to see a Bacon in Ottawa. But Ipanema is not schmoozy, my friend! It is superb. Keep analyzing it

[@Starclimber]

The Ligeti actually gave me chills. Fun video!

[@ZacPB189]

Bruckner has a gnarly scream chord in the Adagio of his 9th

[@YG-us6tl]

Bruckner 9th is a nightmarish trek into death in some places, awesome stuff

[@assodispade786]

Not to forget that Bruckner's 9th has an astonishing nearly 12-tone passage, which is one of the most brilliant moments in music (for me).

[@AtomizedSound]

By far my favorite video of 2020 I think! Love music tidbits such as this!

[@Daniel_Zalman]

The fact that your lovely channel has 174k subscribers is wonderful and reassurring. I hope it continues to grow and grow and grow!

[@roymayh3819]

Thank you, a most wonderful exposition and explanation, really broadens our understanding. This was much needed. Thank you

[@ACCPhil]

I must admit that I have a soft spot for the Berg violin concerto. The moving between sadness (end of the 1st movt) and rage (start of the second) and then back to sadness with the Bach quote. It is enough. I like Ligeti too.

[@ejaviolin]

I feel like “inferno” from firebird is pretty iconic too 😂 the mvmt right before is so tranquil, that first chord always wakes ppl up

[@slimyelow]

The score for The Queen's Gambit by Carlos Rafael Rivera was absolutely the shining star in that miserable waste of a year.

[@roachunter]

I love this video!! Very cool analysis and rating system. Nice work, as always.

[@gordo64ful]

The final chord in Mahler's 6th never fails to make me jump, even being just a plain A minor.

[@peterruark645]

Same with me. I’m glad someone else mentioned that one as well!

[@jotaerreito]

LOL. But it is not because of the chord, because in the previous bars the double bass and the cello already draw the A minor. In the score it puts "p" there, and in the final chord "ff". But it seems that conductors like the audience to have a heart attack, because they really go from "ppp" to "fff"! LOL

[@gordo64ful]

@@jotaerreito of course! David's video focuses on dissonant chords, so this one would be out of place.

[@jotaerreito]

@@gordo64ful yes. Of course. I don't speak English well, sorry. My laughs were because I had imagined the audience bouncing off the seat on the last chord. And I found your comment witty and funny.

[@jotaerreito]

And since you mention dissonant chords, check out this I uploaded a few months ago. I don't know if I transcribed it correctly. What do you think? kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6qXnX1qjKl0icU

[@plastique45]

Simon Cowell : "And how would you describe your music?" Bach : "Shocking" Simon Cowell : "Ok, off you go." Bach : ".....................BA-RABAS!!!!!!!"

[@thevoidanswerswithjazz2215]

Oh my GOOOOOOOOOSJ I LOVE this channel, it inspires me to make more music!

[@TheBassKitty]

I LOVED this video. Thank you so much for making this 👏👏👏👏👏

[@chambord860]

I watch this video out of curiosity and found my old master Bach here. He never disappoints me.

[@Kosmo999]

Wow what a fascinating topic! Really enjoyed that and the way you presented them!

[@liegon]

The chord at 3:20 sounds really beautiful to me. There is some poetic distress in it, like two parts of the soul fighting about two different directions to go to.

[@ofc.kd6-3.78]

what is the name of the music with this fragment?

[@liegon]

@@ofc.kd6-3.78 It's the third Beethoven Symphony („Eroica“), first movement.

[@edoardo8365]

i was waiting for Lulu's death chord.

[@jackkings]

I wasnt

[@scriabinismydog2439]

Heeeeey

[@jackkings]

@@scriabinismydog2439 hello

[@edoardo8365]

helloo

[@ftumschk]

@@jackkings Neither was she!

[@alkishadjinicolaou5831]

Very nice episode!

[@shadowhegog9798]

Prokofiev 5 has a gnarly cluster chord in the third movement.

Scriabin/Nemtin's "Mysterium" (opening chord), is insanely good!

[@koitsuga]

Happy Halloween David

[@sivanataraja]

Among the most striking/shocking chords, the ones Mozart put in his “Gratias” from _Great Mass in C minor_ are truly outstanding.

[@JC-11111]

After watching Rob Scallon attempt to write beautiful music without hearing it, I have much, much more respect and appreciation for Beethoven. That's incredible.

[@pittan86]

Excellent feature this, really appreciate it. Maybe you can do more lists like this one? Like most "joyful" chord; and other adjectives. Beautiful. Holy. Dark. Longing. Ambivalent. And so on! Merry Christmas and happy new year as well Bruce!

[@JoshuaWillis89]

It’s so crazy how different they sound on just the piano versus with the full orchestra and/or choir, particularly when the brass is prominent.

[@daidarabotchi3891]

Interestingly, the first time I heard your chord, I didn't find it as shocking as some of the others. But then, upon hearing the context, and seeing the chord with the visual, it suddenly became one of the most chilling. Understanding seems to affect things a lot.

[@LogicalQ]

Video is legit, was about to complain about a lack of threnody… it was in here. Good job.

[@oritdrimer4354]

I think that Ginastera's 2nd movement of his First Piano Concerto is one of the best screams in music, Especially how it builds up at the piano and the part at the orchestra builds up is Incredible especially because almost the whole movement is silent and/or quiet

[@adrianosbrandao]

That was a great 90s-vibe video :) There are funny dissonant chords too. My favorite: the last chord in Ives’ Second Symphony, which I always call “The Big Fart”. I find it hysterically funny.

[@TrebleWoofer1]

YES! Last year I turned in a paper comparing the Psycho and Threnody openings. I too wondered about them both being composed in 1960 was interesting. So happy I wasn't alone!

[@franzlisztish]

EXCELLENT! Thanks Very Much.

[@coma-body-stilllife]

The most effective sounds that inspire fear and shock are all linked with practical and inherent survival functions. The harmonic signature, pitch shifting and amplitude produced by someone screaming in terror has distinct reproducible elements. The brain interprets these signifiers as a threat or a situation that requires immediate attention, and your experience of a musically emulated version carries the same weight. Chords, in this context, multiply the perceived effect by bringing "group survival" into the mix. If a group is screaming in terror, survival is much more threatened than it would be if an individual was screaming. Multiple persons screaming with their own distinct pitch, and their own distinct signatures creates the complex polyphony/dissonance associated with group threat, and for artistic purpose, a much more potent tool in creating shock and fear. Emulate sounds that people produce while experiencing the emotion or situation you would like to produce musically.

[@coma-body-stilllife]

@terry riley creating a relevant piece around the traumatic experience would require the specifics of that experience, but just thinking in general here, there's actually a lot of sound going on involuntarily by the body during a traumatic experience, the autonomic system goes crazy, the heart accelerate and produce strong beats and breath will become heavy; the sound of trying to suppress breath is very uncomfortable to listen to. There is potential to use these elements as sound in a score, or musically emulate them with specific instruments or a full choir for an exponential effect. Depending on the event, there could be the experience of the one creating the traumatic event as well and their experience of it. Silence is also very jarring when sound is expected especially from a person, and in the context of a film, could emphasize the visual experience over the musical, which may lead to a more impactful overall experience. My last thought is that the challenge could also be more direct in its representation over musical. The traumatic experience itself could be emphasized through heavy compression and some distortion mirroring the intensity and over stimulation of each traumatic action in the sequence.

[@coma-body-stilllife]

@terry riley Can't help myself lol. You start making the "Involuntary-gas-stress-response" noises, and I'll make the "liquidy-stress-response" variations, and we'll combine our work for a compressive sample library. Play both links at the same lime for a inspiration. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWawfItno9KYhKM kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmGWemR_pZmDgLM

[@zachk6932]

What makes the Mahler chord better is the setup. Soft chromatic lines in the high strings and then the floor drops out from underneath. Then back to the theme from the begining and he springs the chord on you interval by interval.

[@nickmaestro]

Honorable mention: Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, 4th Movement. Measure 293. One of the hardest pieces I've ever played. Fast, full of double stops, not overly virtuosic but technically demanding, and very awkward phrasing. But measure 293, you're speeding down the track and Brahms obnoxiously slams on the brakes to a loud, full range D dominant 7 chord with a flat 9 or D F# A C Eb. Pure adrenaline rush.

[@stevouk]

I am ASTONISHED that the third movement opening of Schnittke's Symphony No. 5 is not there. To call it 'blood curdling' is an understatement.

[@AidanMmusic96]

Penderecki's St Luke Passion has a lot of chilling moments throughout for me!

[@Nooticus]

Yup 100%! Not to criticise, but either David Bruce hasn’t heard them or he really did Penderecki a disservice in this video!

[@peterruark645]

Penderecki’s Utrenja as well!

[@ssatva]

I think you underestimated the distinctiveness of your own offering, TBH; not that I have enough background to know what it might have been similar to, but just in context of this video, only about a half of which I'd heard before, yours was quite distinctive, kind of fascinating. Fun video all-round! It's so fun to get past the 'happy!' 'sad!' dichotomy when thinking about music and emotions.

[@venice9438]

Wonderful video! I would love to learn more about your opera.

[@BrendanCalliesComposer]

So glad you included the mahler one, that's my favorite mahler symphony

[@pavlelazarevic3270]

Also his 1st. Finale is pretty loud

[@peterruark645]

This was fun to watch! However, you skipped over what I always considered to be the most horrifying chord in classical music, the one that kept me awake for two hours because I was foolish enough to listen to the piece for the very first time in bed with headphones and didn’t know what was coming: the final, jarring A Minor chord at the end of Mahler’s Sixth symphony. How could that not be included? In the case of that chord, it is not the construction of the chord itself but the context.

[@andrewholcroft.1945]

It was the aminor on the front screen, that made me with the video!

[@migueldoliveiracomposer]

This was phenomenal. Thanks David.

[@TheRickuren]

The first piece that came to mind for me was the climax to the funeral procession movement in Webern’s Six Pieces for Large Orchestra, Op. 6 - and part of the effect comes from the jagged Morse Code-like rhythmic iterations of the “scream.” Extremely difficult to pull off the rhythms effectively, but perhaps the struggle is part of its success?

[@alexandergadjiev3733]

Thanks! There is although at the beginning of the 4th piece from the Altenberg lieder op.4 by Berg with 12 notes. Absolutely mesmerizing!

[@ALF8892]

I loved 2 and 3. It was deeply felt in my soul. I thought they where almost all beautiful

[@passage2enBleu]

As one interested in pursuing music composition, this is very helpful. Some comments are rather dissonant in spirit, which I imagine to be in harmony with the subject matter explored.

[@JoshuaWillis89]

The screaming pope paintings are already terrifying enough, but dubbing the scream chords over them is just top tier nightmare fuel.

[@stevelin3659]

The scariest chord I heard is from the final movement Mahler's first symphony, never fails to scare me especially after the quiet end of the third movement

[@stevelin3659]

Update: more music jumpscares I found includes: the ending of Schoenberg's violin concerto, the ending of Mahler 6 and a moment in Rite of Spring.

[@II-V-I]

Good one! I really enjoyed that. However to me a highly dissonant chord in an almost atonal piece effective yet not shocking. And you've been little modest with your own chord. Gave me instant goosebumps