The course
Cinematic Piano Course
A beautiful piano sound is just the beginning. Learn to write, arrange and finish emotional piano music for trailers, adverts and television.
View the course →Scarypiano
A free experimental piano from Karoryfer Samples, played in SFZ player.
Scarypiano is a horror piano from Karoryfer Samples, first released as a Halloween freebie. It began as public domain Steinway samples from the University of Iowa, which were put through voice-changing software made for monster sounds. The result is a warped, unsettling piano rather than a realistic one. It has three voices built from different velocity layers, and you can blend them, ideally with automation. A sforzando interface with eyeball knobs is included. It suits horror, thriller and dark game music. The catch is that it is a special effect, not an everyday piano, and the 342 MB download comes from GitHub.
Worth knowing: Heavily processed piano samples. Load it in a free SFZ player such as Plogue sforzando. The download is hosted on GitHub.
Get Scarypiano from Karoryfer Samples →More free experimental pianos
- Writing for trailers, adverts and TV
- Arpeggio patterns that make plain chords cinematic
- Making MIDI piano sound played
- Light orchestration with strings
- A quick mix and master for each track