[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":32},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-halloween-sheet-music-video-ideas":3},{"slug":4,"title":5,"description":6,"date":7,"updated":7,"author":8,"tags":9,"cover":16,"coverAlt":17,"hasCover":18,"apps":19,"draft":22,"faq":23,"readingTime":30,"html":31},"halloween-sheet-music-video-ideas","Spooky Sheet Music Videos for Halloween (Public-Domain Picks)","Make three Halloween sheet music videos this week from public-domain MIDIs: Grieg's Mountain King, the Toccata in D minor and Chopin's Funeral March.","2026-10-11","Cihad Turhan",[10,11,12,13,14,15],"halloween","sheet-music","classical","music-video","piano","note-bounce","/var-3.jpg","Note Bounce store screenshot titled Import Your Custom Songs, showing a MIDI file being turned into a level",true,[15,20,21],"marble-music","ringloop",false,[24,27],{"q":25,"a":26},"What are easy spooky songs to learn on piano?","The main theme of Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King is a good first pick, because it is a short, mostly stepwise melody that repeats many times. The opening of Chopin's Funeral March is also manageable, since it moves slowly and repeats the same note often.",{"q":28,"a":29},"Can I post Halloween movie themes?","Film and TV themes are usually still under copyright, so posting covers of them carries copyright risk on every platform; check each platform's music policy or stick to public-domain classics like the ones in this post.",6,"\u003Cp>To make spooky sheet music videos for Halloween, import a public-domain MIDI of a dark classical piece into Note Bounce, play it until the run is clean, and render the gameplay as a video. Three pieces cover the whole Halloween mood on their own: Grieg's \u003Cem>In the Hall of the Mountain King\u003C/em>, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, and the march from Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>All three are old enough to be in the public domain as compositions, they are instantly recognizable, and each has one feature on the page that makes a good reading challenge. Below is one plan per piece: where to get the MIDI, which part to clip, one thing to point out in the notation, and a caption you can copy. If the staff is still new to you, start with the \u003Ca href=\"/blog/learn-to-read-sheet-music-with-a-game/\">beginner's guide to reading sheet music\u003C/a> so you can explain what viewers are seeing.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"the-three-pieces-at-a-glance\">The three pieces at a glance\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cdiv class=\"table-wrap\">\u003Ctable>\n\u003Cthead>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Cth>Piece\u003C/th>\n\u003Cth>Mood\u003C/th>\n\u003Cth>Clip this part\u003C/th>\n\u003Cth>Reading hook\u003C/th>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003C/thead>\n\u003Ctbody>\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>Grieg, \u003Cem>In the Hall of the Mountain King\u003C/em>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>Creeping, then frantic\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>The opening theme, about 20 to 30 seconds\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>One short phrase repeated again and again\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>Toccata and Fugue in D minor\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>Haunted-house organ\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>The first 15 to 20 seconds\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>A three-note flourish, then a long run downward\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>Chopin, Funeral March\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>Slow and solemn\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>The first phrase of the melody\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>Five flats and a dotted rhythm\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003C/tbody>\u003C/table>\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>The MIDI files below come from the free library on the Marble Music site. A public-domain composition doesn't make every MIDI arrangement public domain, so check the license of any file you use, or take one from the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.mutopiaproject.org\">Mutopia Project\u003C/a> and compare it against a score on \u003Ca href=\"https://imslp.org\">IMSLP\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"1-in-the-hall-of-the-mountain-king\">1. In the Hall of the Mountain King\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Grieg wrote this piece in 1875 as incidental music for Henrik Ibsen's play \u003Cem>Peer Gynt\u003C/em>, where it accompanies the hero being chased by trolls, \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Hall_of_the_Mountain_King\">according to Wikipedia\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Get the MIDI:\u003C/strong> \u003Ca href=\"https://playmarblemusic.com/midis/Edvard_Grieg_-_In_The_Hall_Of_The_Mountain_King.mid\">Edvard Grieg, In the Hall of the Mountain King\u003C/a>. Import it into Note Bounce to build a custom level.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Reading tip to share:\u003C/strong> the whole piece grows out of one short phrase. It climbs step by step up five notes (B, C sharp, D, E, F sharp), then hops back and forth. Once viewers spot that shape, they stop reading each note and start recognizing the pattern every time it comes back, which is how fluent readers handle repetition. Point it out in the first second, then let the run prove it. For a bar-by-bar walkthrough of the key, the repeats and the speed-up, see the Mountain King reading guide.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Sample on-screen text:\u003C/strong> "Count how many times this phrase repeats."\n\u003Cstrong>Sample caption:\u003C/strong> "Grieg wrote this for trolls in 1875. Same five-note climb, over and over, until it explodes."\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"2-toccata-and-fugue-in-d-minor\">2. Toccata and Fugue in D minor\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>This organ piece is the sound most people picture when they think of a haunted mansion. It was long attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, though some scholars have questioned that since 1981, \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toccata_and_Fugue_in_D_minor,_BWV_565\">as Wikipedia notes\u003C/a>. If you name the composer in your caption, "attributed to Bach" is the safe wording.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Get the MIDI:\u003C/strong> the library has a \u003Ca href=\"https://playmarblemusic.com/midis/Bach_-_Toccata_and_Fugue_in_D_Minor_BWV_595__Piano_Version.mid\">piano version of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor\u003C/a>. The full file runs over seven minutes, so plan to clip only the opening.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Reading tip to share:\u003C/strong> the famous opening is just three quick notes, A, G and back to A, played in octaves, followed by a run that falls down the scale and comes to rest. On the staff you can see the run as a slope of noteheads stepping down line, space, line. Ask viewers to watch the direction of the notes rather than name each one.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Sample on-screen text:\u003C/strong> "Three notes, then the staircase falls."\n\u003Cstrong>Sample caption:\u003C/strong> "The haunted-house organ intro, in sheet music. Watch the run go down the staff."\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"3-chopins-funeral-march\">3. Chopin's Funeral March\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The march is the third movement of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35, and he wrote it in 1837, two years before the rest of the sonata, \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._2_(Chopin)\">according to Wikipedia\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Get the MIDI:\u003C/strong> \u003Ca href=\"https://playmarblemusic.com/midis/Funeral_March.mid\">Funeral March\u003C/a>. It opens with the low, rocking chords of the accompaniment under the melody, which suits a slow, moody clip.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Reading tip to share:\u003C/strong> this one is about the key signature and the rhythm. B-flat minor has five flats, so remind viewers that every B, E, A, D and G in the piece is flat unless a natural sign says otherwise. Then look at the melody: a dotted note followed by a short one gives the march its heavy, dragging step. Asking "Can you spot the dotted rhythm?" turns a slow clip into a small puzzle.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Sample on-screen text:\u003C/strong> "Five flats. One very famous rhythm."\n\u003Cstrong>Sample caption:\u003C/strong> "Chopin wrote this march in 1837. Spot the dotted rhythm before the ball lands."\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"a-one-week-plan-to-finish-all-three\">A one-week plan to finish all three\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Work through the pieces in order of difficulty:\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> \u003Cstrong>Day 1:\u003C/strong> Download the three MIDI files and import them into Note Bounce as custom levels.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> \u003Cstrong>Day 2:\u003C/strong> Play the Mountain King opening until you're happy with a full run of the clip section.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> \u003Cstrong>Day 3:\u003C/strong> Render it, add the on-screen line with your video editor or the platform's text tool, and post.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> \u003Cstrong>Day 4:\u003C/strong> Practice the Toccata opening.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> \u003Cstrong>Day 5:\u003C/strong> Render and post the Toccata.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> \u003Cstrong>Day 6:\u003C/strong> Practice the first phrase of the Funeral March.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> \u003Cstrong>Day 7:\u003C/strong> Render and post it, ideally close to Halloween, when the slowest and darkest of the three fits best.\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Cp>Before posting, watch each render on your phone. Check that the noteheads are readable at phone size and that the clip starts on the first note, not on a silent pause.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>A quick note on music choice: Halloween film themes and modern spooky songs are popular, but covers of them carry copyright risk on every platform. Check each platform's music policy, or stay with public-domain pieces like these three.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Not every viewer wants to read along, so consider a second version. \u003Ca href=\"https://playmarblemusic.com/midis?utm_source=note-bounce-blog&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=halloween-sheet-music-video-ideas\">Marble Music\u003C/a> (formerly Beat Bounce) hosts the free MIDI library these three files come from, and the app turns the same MIDI into a bouncing-marble music video with no notation on screen. Posting a sheet music version and a marble version of the same spooky piece gives you two different videos from one download.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"start-with-the-mountain-king-tonight\">Start with the Mountain King tonight\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Open \u003Ca href=\"/\">Note Bounce\u003C/a>, import the Grieg MIDI, and play the opening phrase a few times. It is the easiest of the three to play cleanly, and the repeating pattern makes the reading hook obvious from the first bar. Render one run, add "Count how many times this phrase repeats" on screen, and you have your first Halloween video ready to post.\u003C/p>\n",1791698504283]