Neo Soul Chord Progressions: 6 Lush Loops to Play Today

You already know the sound: warm keys, chords that feel a little blurry around the edges, a bass that takes its time and a groove that sits just behind the beat. That is neo soul. And if you try to recreate it with plain triads, it falls flat fast. The secret is not more chords. It is richer chords, and a few smart ways of moving between them.

Below are 6 neo soul chord progressions you can play right away, with Roman numerals, the notes in every chord and short voicings that actually fit under your fingers. They are written around C major and D Dorian (almost all white keys), so they are easy to try on a MIDI keyboard or in the piano roll.

What makes a chord progression sound neo soul?

Neo soul grew out of R&B, soul, jazz and hip hop. The name itself was coined by music executive Kedar Massenburg in the late 1990s, when artists like D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Maxwell and Lauryn Hill broke through. Harmonically, a few things keep coming back:

• Extended chords. Where R&B is happy with sevenths, neo soul often stacks higher: ninths, elevenths and thirteenths. A Dm11 (D, F, A, C, E, G) sounds open and slightly unresolved in a way a plain Dm never does.
• Dorian color. Many neo soul vamps sit on a minor chord with a bright major chord a fourth above it. That combination comes from the Dorian mode and gives minor grooves a warm, hopeful twist.
• Chromatic movement. Sliding a whole chord shape up or down a half step, or swapping a chord for one a tritone away, adds those "where did that come from" moments.
• Slash chords. Playing one chord over a different bass note, like F over G, creates a soft, suspended sound that gospel and neo soul players love.

How to read the numbers: lowercase (ii, iii, vi) means minor, uppercase (I, IV, V) means major. The number after it tells you how far the chord is stacked: 9, 11 or 13. "maj9" is a major seventh chord with a ninth on top. If you are new to Roman numerals, start with which chords go together.

6 neo soul chord progressions to try

1. The Dorian vamp: i11, IV13 (Dm11, G13)

If you learn only one neo soul move, learn this one. You stay in D minor, but the G chord is major. That is the Dorian sound: minor, but with a lift. Both chords only use white keys, and they share several notes, so you can rock between them for an entire verse. Give each chord one or two bars and let the bass and drums create the movement.

Short voicings: Dm11 as D in the bass with F, C, E and G on top. G13 as G in the bass with F, B and E on top.

2. The chromatic slide: IVmaj9, iii9, biii9, ii9 (Fmaj9, Em9, Ebm9, Dm9)

Start on Fmaj9, then take one minor ninth shape and slide it down a half step at a time. Em9 already steps a little outside the key (it has an F#), and Ebm9 is fully outside, but because every note moves in parallel, your ear hears one smooth glide instead of random chords. This trick is called planing. Land on Dm9 and add G13 at the end if you want the loop to pull back to the top.

3. The tritone sub: ii9, bII9, Imaj9 (Dm9, Db9, Cmaj9)

This is the classic ii, V, I, but the G7 is swapped for Db9. That works because G7 and Db7 share the same two tension notes (B and F; in Db7 the B is written as Cb). The result is pure smoothness: from Dm9 to Db9, four notes drop a half step and the F stays. From Db9 to Cmaj9 every note either drops a half step or stays put. The bass walks D, Db, C, which sounds expensive for something so simple.

4. The backdoor: iv9, bVII13, Imaj9 (Fm9, Bb13, Cmaj9)

Instead of reaching home through G, you sneak in through the back door. Fm9 and Bb13 are borrowed from C minor, so the first two chords sound moody and soft. Then Cmaj9 opens up like a window. The Ab in the Bb13 falls to G and the D stays, so the resolution feels natural. This one is great at the end of a hook or as an intro that resolves into your main loop.

Short voicing for Bb13: Bb in the bass with Ab, D and G on top.

5. The turnaround with a twist: Imaj9, VI7b13, ii9, V13 (Cmaj9, A7b13, Dm9, G13)

You probably know the one, six, two, five loop. Here the six is a dominant chord instead of a minor one. The C# in A7 pulls hard toward Dm9, and the b13 (an F) keeps it close to the key, so it sounds bluesy and soulful instead of out of place. Loop it four bars at a time, or use it once at the end of a section to send the groove back to the top.

Short voicing for A7b13: A in the bass with G, C# and F on top.

6. Four over five: ii11, IV/V, Imaj9 (Dm11, F/G, Cmaj9)

F/G means an F major chord with a G in the bass. It works like a G chord, but without the strong B that normally makes a dominant chord sound pushy. The result is a gentle, suspended pull toward C. This sound is all over gospel and neo soul. Hold F/G a little longer than feels normal before you resolve, and let the release land.

Cheat sheet: notes in every chord

• Cmaj9: C, E, G, B, D
• Db9: Db, F, Ab, Cb (B), Eb
• Dm9: D, F, A, C, E
• Dm11: D, F, A, C, E, G
• Em9: E, G, B, D, F#
• Ebm9: Eb, Gb, Bb, Db, F
• Fmaj9: F, A, C, E, G
• Fm9: F, Ab, C, Eb, G
• F/G: F, A, C over a G in the bass
• G13: G, B, D, F, A, E (short: G, F, B, E)
• Bb13: Bb, D, F, Ab, C, G (short: Bb, Ab, D, G)
• A7b13: A, C#, E, G, F (short: A, G, C#, F)

You do not have to play every note. With five or six note chords, leave out the fifth first. It adds the least color.

How to make these chords actually sound neo soul

1. Pick the right instrument. An electric piano (Rhodes style), a Wurlitzer style keys sound or a clean, warm guitar. Most DAWs have one built in. A bright grand piano makes the same chords sound like a jazz lesson.
2. Let the bass take the root. Play the root in the bass and leave it out of your right hand. These are called rootless voicings, and they keep big chords from turning muddy.
3. Keep the voicings close. Move as few notes as possible between chords. Progressions 2, 3 and 4 are built on this idea, so let your hand barely move.
4. Loosen the timing. Neo soul grooves often feel relaxed and a bit behind the beat. Turn quantize down or off, nudge chords slightly late and vary the velocity.
5. Do not play on every beat. Hold chords, leave gaps and let the bass answer. Space is part of the sound.
6. Leave room for the voice. Eleventh and thirteenth chords fill a lot of the midrange. If a singer or rapper gets buried, drop a note or move the voicing lower.

Start from free MIDI, then add the extensions

Do not feel like clicking every chord into the piano roll? Open our free Chord Progression Generator, pick the R&B or Chill mood (both use seventh chords), choose your key and tempo and listen right in your browser. Download the MIDI: you get a chords track plus a bass line on the root notes, free to use in your own releases. Then turn those sevenths into neo soul chords yourself: add the ninth (the note a whole step above the root, played an octave higher), and on minor chords try the eleventh as well.

Writing chords for a sample or beat you already have? Check its key and BPM first with Beat Lab, so your progression fits. Want simpler seventh chord loops first? Start with our R&B chord progressions or the lo-fi chord progressions, and when you are ready to build the full track, follow how to make an R&B beat in FL Studio.

Recording vocals over your neo soul beat?

Chords this rich need a vocal that sits warm and clear on top. If you record sung hooks or melodic rap yourself, the Frenna-Inspired Vocal Preset Bundle gives you a starting chain for Logic Pro (built-in plugins) or FL Studio (stock plugins from FL Studio Signature). Frenna is a Dutch artist known for melodic, tuned vocals that sit upfront in the mix. For US listeners, that is in a similar lane as the melodic, R&B leaning side of Drake's records. It is a style reference and a starting point you tune to your own voice, not a copy of anyone's vocal chain, and it is not made, approved or endorsed by either artist.

FAQ

What chords are used in neo soul?

Mostly extended chords: minor ninths and elevenths, major ninths, dominant ninths and thirteenths, plus slash chords like F/G. They sound fuller and more open than the seventh chords you hear in a lot of R&B.

What is the difference between neo soul and R&B chords?

There is a lot of overlap. Neo soul usually goes a step further: more extensions, more Dorian vamps and more chromatic moves like the tritone sub and planing. Modern R&B often keeps it simpler with seventh chords and a cleaner, more produced sound.

Do I need to know jazz theory to play neo soul?

No. If you can play the six progressions above from the cheat sheet, you already have the core moves. Learn them in C first, then move them to other keys with the Roman numerals.

Can I use these progressions in a song I release?

Yes. Chord progressions are common building blocks in music, and the MIDI from our generator is free to use in your own tracks, also commercially. Just do not copy someone else's actual recording or melody.

Want more free help for your beats, like a BPM finder, master checker and audio converter? Check out all our free music tools.