R&B chords get their sound from the notes stacked on top: 7ths, 9ths and the odd 11th, moving smoothly from one chord to the next, usually somewhere between 60 and 100 bpm. Below are 13 R&B chord progressions with the chord names, Roman numerals, key and tempo on every card. Each one plays in your browser and downloads as MIDI with a free account.
Melody Generator's AI made each progression from the prompt written on its card. If you like one, press Make more like this and the app writes four new RnB chord progressions from the same prompt. It's text to MIDI for chords.
Every card shows the chord names and the numerals for its key, read from the notes of the take. Press play, download the MIDI, or ask the app for more like it.
Chords: G#m · A#m · G#madd9/B · G#m · D#7sus4 · G#m/B · C#madd9 · G#m
Roman numerals: i · ii · iadd9 · i · V7sus4 · i · ivadd9 · i in G# minor
Picked G# minor with a moving bass: i to A#m and back, a D#7sus4 in bar 4 and a C#m(add9) before the loop returns to G#m.
Chords: Gm · F · Gm · Dm · Gm · F · Gm7 · F · Gm
Roman numerals: i · VII · i · v · i · VII · i7 · VII · i in G minor
A G minor vamp: Gm holds most of the loop, with short F and Dm chords between. The only 7th is the Gm7 around bar 5.
Chords: Bsus2 · G · F#m · Esus2 · F#m · B5 · G · Em7 · F#sus4 · F#m · Bsus2
Roman numerals: Isus2 · VI · v · IVsus2 · v · I5 · VI · iv7 · Vsus4 · v · Isus2 in B minor
Open voicings with no 3rd on the B and E chords (Bsus2, Esus2, B5) between G and F#m, so it stays airy and never lands on a full B minor. It ends where it began, on Bsus2.
Chords: Am · Dm · E7 · Am · Dm · Em
Roman numerals: i · iv · V7 · i · iv · v in A minor
A plain minor i, iv, V7 loop. The E7 brings a G# that pulls back to Am, and the last bar answers it with a minor Em instead.
Chords: D · Bm · G · D · Em · A · D · Bm · A/C# · D · G · A · D
Roman numerals: I · vi · IV · I · ii · V · I · vi · V · I · IV · V · I in D major
A major-key loop in D built from plain triads: I, vi, IV and a ii to V that lands back home, with the bass climbing B, C#, D in bar 6.
Slow, warm and in a major key. These two stay close to plain triads, so they are easy to dress up with 7ths and 9ths in your DAW. For darker loops, try these minor chord progressions.
Chords: Ab · Eb · Fm · Cm · Db · Eb · Ab · Ebsus4 · Ab · Eb · Fm · Bbm9 · Ebsus4 · Ab · Ab/C · Db
Roman numerals: I · V · vi · iii · IV · V · I · Vsus4 · I · V · vi · ii9 · Vsus4 · I · I · IV in Ab major
Major-key triads in Ab: I, V, vi, iii, IV, V, with Ebsus4 turning back to Ab and one Bbm9 near the end.
Chords: C · D · G · Gmaj9 · C · D · G
Roman numerals: IV · V · I · Imaj9 · IV · V · I in G major
IV, V, I in G major, twice through: C to D to G, with a major 9th on the first G. Short and bright.
90s R&B piano leans on 7th and 9th chords that change every bar or two. Soul guitar keeps it simpler, often one or two chords picked as short stabs.
Chords: Dm9 · Em7 · Fmaj7 · Dm/G · Dm9 · Em7 · Dm · Amadd9 · Dm7 · C · Am9 · Dm/G · Amadd9 · Dm9 · Em7 · Fmaj7 · G · Am · Dm · C · Am9 · Am · G9 · Am
Roman numerals: iv9 · v7 · VImaj7 · iv · iv9 · v7 · iv · iadd9 · iv7 · III · i9 · iv · iadd9 · iv9 · v7 · VImaj7 · VII · i · iv · III · i9 · i · VII9 · i in A minor
Quick 7th chords climbing step by step, Dm9, Em7, Fmaj7, then Dm over a G bass, that land on Am(add9) or Am9 every two bars. There is a G9 near the end.
Chords: Am7 · Dm7 · G · Am · Dm7 · G/B
Roman numerals: i7 · iv7 · VII · i · iv7 · VII in A minor
Minor 7ths on the i and iv, Am7 to Dm7, then G, the VII. The second time the G has its B in the bass, which steps back up to Am.
Chords: D#madd9 · B · D#sus4/A#
Roman numerals: iadd9 · VI · Isus4 in D# minor
Two bars of D# minor with the 9th (E#) in the picking, a bar of B major, the VI, then a sus4 over A# that leads back to the start.
Chords: F · Cadd9 · Fadd9 ×2
Roman numerals: I · Vadd9 · Iadd9 in F major
A one-chord soul vamp on F with a quick change to C(add9), I to V and back, played as short guitar stabs.
Minor keys at slow tempos, 68 and 75 bpm here, with sus chords that hold off the resolution. The sad chord progressions page has more like these.
Chords: Bbm · F7sus4 · Bbm · F7sus4 · Bbm · F7sus4 · Bbm · Ab5 · F
Roman numerals: i · V7sus4 · i · V7sus4 · i · V7sus4 · i · VII5 · V in Bb minor
Bbm rocks against an F7sus4 for six bars, then the last bar walks Ab to a full F major, the V that pulls back to Bbm.
Chords: F#sus2 · C#m/E · Dmaj7 · C#sus4 ×2 (the last C#sus4 resolves to C#)
Roman numerals: Isus2 · v · VImaj7 · Vsus4 in F# minor
i, v, VImaj7 and a C#sus4 that holds its 4th until the very last bar, where it resolves to C# major and pulls back to F#.
Set your project tempo to the bpm on the card before you drop the file in. R&B chords sit well on Rhodes, Wurlitzer or a soft pad. If they crowd the vocal, move the top notes down an octave.
Mostly short loops of 7th and 9th chords. The ones you hear again and again are ii-V-I, like Dm7, G7, Cmaj7, the I-IV-iii-vi loop, like Cmaj7, Fmaj7, Em7, Am7, and minor vamps that rock between two or three minor 7th chords.
There isn't one winner, but ii-V-I with 7th chords comes closest. In C major that is Dm7 to G7 to Cmaj7. R&B players often turn it into a loop by starting on the vi chord: Am7, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7.
Regular major and minor chords with extra notes stacked on top. A 7th, a 9th or an 11th gives the chord that soft, full R&B color, so you'll see names like Cm9, Fmaj7 and Bb13. The bass often plays a different note from the chord, written as a slash chord like Ab/Bb.
There's no fixed set of three. A good starting point is the ii, V and I of a key played as 7th chords. In Eb major that's Fm7, Bb7 and Ebmaj7, and those three already sound like R&B.
No single key owns R&B. Flat keys like Eb, Ab, Db and Bb come up a lot, but in practice the singer decides. Pick the key that fits the vocal, then transpose the MIDI to match.
Yes. Download the MIDI and transpose it in your DAW, or type the key into Melody Generator, for example "r&b chord progression with 9th chords in Ab major, 72 bpm", and get new takes in that key.
More on this site: minor chord progressions for dark, trap and drill beats, free MIDI packs of melodies and chords, and how text to MIDI works.
Free with Google sign-in. Four takes per prompt.