R&B Chord Progressions: 10 Smooth Loops (demos and free MIDI included)

HERE ARE 10 SMOOTH R&B CHORD PROGRESSIONS YOU CAN COPY, WITH DEMOS AND FREE MIDI!

What is an R&B chord progression? It's the loop of chords that carries the feeling of an R&B song. Instead of plain three note chords, R&B uses 7th, 9th and 13th chords, and the notes glide from one chord to the next, which is what gives it that warm, soulful sound.

The chord names can look scary (G13? C#dim7?), but every one of them is just a few notes on the keyboard. So for every progression below you get the exact notes, a screenshot of the piano roll, a demo so you can hear it, and the MIDI to drag straight into FL Studio.

If you want the whole beat making process first, check out our step by step R&B beat tutorial. This post goes deep on one thing: the chords.

What makes R&B chords sound smooth:

Four things do most of the work:

• Extended chords. A normal chord has 3 notes. Add the 7th and the 9th on top and you get a maj9 or a m9, the sound of most R&B. 11ths and 13ths add even more colour.
• Smooth voice leading. The notes in your right hand barely move between chords, usually a half step or a whole step. Only the bass jumps around.
• Borrowed chords. One chord from outside the key (a minor four, a diminished chord, a chord with a sharp 9) adds the emotional twist R&B is known for.
• A slow tempo. R&B tempos range from about 60 BPM for slow jams up to about 120 BPM. All the demos in this post are at 80 BPM, so every chord gets time to ring.

R&B chords vs trap and drill chords:

Trap and drill loops usually use simple minor triads with one dark move, because the drums and the 808 do the talking. R&B is the opposite: the chords are the star, so they are richer, they change more often, and there is a lot more major key in them. If dark is what you're after, check out our drill chord progressions instead.

How to play R&B chords on piano:

Every chord in this post is played the way a keys player would play it: one bass note in the left hand, and 3 or 4 notes in the right hand around middle C. The notes are written from the bottom up, with a + between the hands. So Dm9 (D + F A C E) means a low D in your left hand, and F, A, C and E in your right hand.

The progressions are written in C major and its relative minor, A minor, so they're mostly white keys and easy to read. The free MIDI also has every progression in two more keys (Eb and Ab major, or C and F minor), so you can drop it into your song without moving a note. In FL Studio, middle C is called C5, so that's what you'll see in the screenshots. FL also names the black keys with sharps, so a Bb shows up as A# and an Eb as D#.

The demos are played on Prototype Dusty Felts, a soft felt piano plugin. A Rhodes or electric piano sounds just as good on these.

1. The 2-5-1:

Dm9 (D + F A C E), G13 (G + F A B E), Cmaj9 (C + E G B D), C6/9 (C + E G A D)

The 2-5-1 (ii, V, I) is the most important progression in R&B, soul and jazz. Look at the right hand going from Dm9 to G13: only one note moves, the C drops to a B. That tiny move is the whole secret to smooth R&B chords.

The last bar changes Cmaj9 to C6/9 by moving the B down to an A, so the loop doesn't sit still before it starts again.

2. The Slow Jam (1-6-2-5):

Cmaj9 (C + E G B D), A13 (A + G B C# F#), Dm9 (D + F A C E), G13 (G + F A B E)

This one starts on the home chord and goes around the loop through A13, which is not in the key of C. Its C# and F# pull straight down to the C and E of the Dm9, so it sounds like it's leaning into the next chord. Classic 90s slow jam sound.

3. The Diminished Passing Chord:

Cmaj9 (C + E G B D), C#dim7 (C# + E G Bb C#), Dm9 (D + F A C E), G13 (G + F A B E)

Same idea as the slow jam, but the second chord is a diminished chord. Now the bass climbs in half steps: C, C#, D. Diminished chords sound tense on their own, but as a quick step between two chords they sound expensive.

🔥 Pro Tip: try a diminished chord one half step above any chord you want to land on. It works almost every time.

4. The 4-3-2-1 Walkdown:

Fmaj9 (F + G A C E), Em7 (E + G B D E), Dm9 (D + F A C E), Cmaj9 (C + E G B D)

The bass walks down the scale one step at a time, F, E, D, C, while the right hand moves up and down around it. You hear this walkdown all over R&B and gospel. It's great for the end of a hook, because landing on the C feels like coming home.

5. The 6-4-1-5 (The Pop Progression, Made R&B):

Am9 (A + G B C E), Fmaj9 (F + G A C E), Cmaj9 (C + G B D E), Fmaj7/G (G + F A C E)

These are the same 4 chords as a thousand pop songs (Am, F, C, G). Make every chord a 9th chord, and swap the G for an F chord over a G bass, and the pop progression turns into R&B. That last chord is called a slash chord, and it's a softer way to play the 5 chord.

6. The Dorian Vamp:

Am9 (A + G B C E), D13 (D + F# B C E), Am9, D13

Two chords, back and forth. In a normal minor key the 4 chord is minor (Dm), but here it's a major D13, which comes from the Dorian scale. In the right hand only one note moves (G to F#), so the vamp can loop for a whole song without getting boring. Perfect for a singer to ride on.

7. The Neo Soul Turnaround:

Fmaj9 (F + A C E G), E7#9 (E + G# B D G), Am9 (A + G B C E), Gm9 (G + F A Bb D) and C9 (C + E G Bb D)

E7#9 has a major third (G#) and a minor third (G) at the same time, which gives it a bluesy, crunchy sound. It pulls hard into the Am9. The last bar has two chords, 2 beats each: Gm9 and C9 are a quick 2-5 that leads back to the Fmaj9 when the loop restarts.

8. The Minor Four:

Cmaj9 (C + E G B D), Fmaj9 (F + E G A C), Fm9 (F + Eb G Ab C), Bb13 (Bb + D G Ab C)

This is the borrowed chord trick. Bar 2 is a normal Fmaj9, then bar 3 turns it minor by moving the A down to an Ab (and the E down to an Eb). That one move makes the loop go from happy to bittersweet. Bb13 then slides back into the Cmaj9.

9. The Trap Soul Loop:

Am9 (A + G B C E), Fmaj9 (F + G A C E), Am9, Fmaj9

A two chord minor loop for darker, modern R&B with 808s. The right hand only changes one note (B to A) while the bass drops from A to F. It's simple on purpose: it leaves a lot of space for the vocal, the drums and the 808 (you'll hear it with a full beat further down).

10. The Minor Turnaround:

Am9 (A + G B C E), Dm9 (D + F A C E), Bm7b5 (B + F A B D), E7b9 (E + F G# B D)

The minor key version of the 2-5-1. Bm7b5 and E7b9 are the 2 and the 5 of A minor, and the E7b9's G# leads right back to the A. Moody, but still smooth.

Download The Free R&B Chord MIDI:

All 10 progressions, each in 3 keys (30 MIDI files). Each file is 4 bars at 80 BPM with 2 parts: the chords exactly as you hear them in the demos, and a bass line on the root notes for your bass or 808.

To use them in FL Studio, unzip the download, then drag a .mid file into the playlist or the channel rack. Not in the right key? Select all the notes in the piano roll and move them with the up and down arrow keys.

Add drums and an 808:

Your bass or 808 should play the lowest note of each chord. Here's progression 9 again, with drums and an 808 following the root notes A and F:

The kick and the 808 hit together, the snare is on beats 2 and 4, and the hi hats play simple 8th notes with a short roll at the end of the loop. R&B drums are usually simple and predictable, so the chords and the vocal stay in front. For 808 rhythms you can copy, check out our 808 patterns for trap and drill, and for hi hat rolls see our hi hat guide.

Make the chords sound like a real R&B record:

Keep the right hand close together:

When you write your own progression, don't build every chord from the root up. Pick the version of the next chord whose notes are closest to the last one. If a note can stay where it is, leave it. That's how every progression in this post is written.

Keep the left hand simple:

One low note per chord is enough. Two notes a third apart down low (like C and E below middle C) sound muddy, so keep the low end for the root, and keep the colourful notes in the right hand.

Give the chords some movement:

Holding each chord for a whole bar is smooth and spacious. For more feel, try playing the chord a little before the beat, or roll the notes from the bottom up like a real keys player. You can also play the chords on a Rhodes, a pad or a guitar instead of a piano.

EQ the chords around the bass:

Cut the low end of the chord channel with an EQ so it doesn't fight the 808 or bass. Start around 120 to 200Hz and listen. Our list of the best free mixing plugins has a few great free EQs.

🔥 Pro Tip: stuck on a chord? Take the progression you have and turn every chord into a 9th chord. It's the fastest way to make a plain loop sound R&B.

Want R&B Melodies Already Made?

The Heart R&B Pack is filled with soulful, emotional melodies, chords, live vocals, MIDI and basslines. The pack is 1GB, has 287 files and is 100% royalty free.

---

The Essence Melody Pack has 30 high quality melodies, including R&B, old school hip hop and trap melodies. It's 100% royalty free.

---

CONCLUSION:

R&B chords sound complicated, but they come down to a few simple habits: add the 7th and 9th, keep the right hand close together, and borrow one chord from outside the key. Start with one of the progressions above, then make it your own with a new key, a different sound or a new rhythm.

To summarize, here's how to make R&B chord progressions:

1. Turn plain chords into 7th and 9th chords
2. Play one bass note left, 3 or 4 notes right
3. Move each right hand note as little as possible
4. Borrow one chord from outside the key
5. Keep the tempo slow and let the chords ring

Thanks for reading and happy producing!

---

Written by Luke Alderson