Pluggnb Chord Progressions: 6 Dreamy Loops (With Free MIDI)

You've got the bouncy 808, the soft clap on three and a glassy bell ready to go, but your beat still sounds like regular trap? Nine times out of ten, the chords are the problem. Pluggnb lives on jazzy, slightly bittersweet chords that sound warm and sad at the same time. Plain triads won't get you there. Ninth chords, smart voicings and one or two borrowed chords will.

Below are 6 pluggnb chord progressions you can play right away. They're all in C major or A minor (almost only white keys), with Roman numerals so you can move them to any key, the notes in every chord, and tips on voicing them so they actually sound like pluggnb instead of a jazz lesson.

What makes a chord progression sound like pluggnb?

Pluggnb mixes plugg beats with the melodies and harmony of R&B. In its guide to the genre, Splice names artists like Summrs, Autumn!, XanGang and ArizonaTears as part of the sound, and quotes producer Swoope saying it pulls a lot from '90s R&B and gospel. In the chords, that shows up as:

• Extended chords. Major sevenths, minor sevenths and ninths on almost every chord. A Cmaj9 (C, E, G, B, D) sounds dreamy where a plain C sounds like a nursery rhyme.
• Notes right next to each other. Native Instruments points out in its pluggnb tutorial that voicings with neighboring notes add a slight dissonance that makes progressions feel bittersweet. Think B and C, or the ninth sitting right above the root.
• Block chords on soft keys. The chords are usually played as simple held blocks on an electric piano, a bell or a pad. No busy comping.
• Short loops. Two to four chords that repeat. The 808, melody and vocal do the moving.

How to read the numbers: lowercase (ii, iii, vi) means minor, uppercase (I, IV, V) means major. "maj7" or "maj9" is a major seventh chord (plus a ninth), "add9" adds the ninth without the seventh, and a slash like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass. New to Roman numerals? Start with which chords go together.

6 pluggnb chord progressions to try

1. The two-chord float: IVmaj9, Imaj9/E (Fmaj9, Cmaj9/E)

The easiest way into the sound. Play Fmaj9 with F in the bass, then Cmaj9 with E in the bass. The bass only moves one step (F down to E), and the two chords share C, E and G, so the switch is soft. Give each chord two bars and it already sounds like a pluggnb intro.

Voicing to try: Fmaj9 as F in the bass with E, G, A, C on top. Cmaj9/E as E in the bass with D, G, B, C on top. Hear that B and C rubbing? That's the bittersweet part.

2. The pop loop, pluggnb style: vi9, IVmaj7, Imaj9, Vadd9 (Am9, Fmaj7, Cmaj9, Gadd9)

This is the famous six, four, one, five that's under countless pop songs, just with extensions on every chord. According to Splice, pluggnb remixes of pop hits like Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" went viral on YouTube. You can hear the idea here: take a familiar pop loop, add jazzy extensions, and it slides right into pluggnb territory. Gadd9 (G, B, D, A) keeps the five chord soft instead of pushy.

3. The step up and back: ii9, iii7, IVmaj9, iii7 (Dm9, Em7, Fmaj9, Em7)

The bass walks D, E, F and back to E, one step at a time. It feels like it's floating up and then changing its mind. Because it never lands on C, the loop never fully resolves, so it can run under a whole verse without getting boring. Use a slow, warm pad or Rhodes-style keys here.

4. The bittersweet borrowed chord: Imaj9, vi9, IVmaj9, bVImaj7 (Cmaj9, Am9, Fmaj9, Abmaj7)

Abmaj7 (Ab, C, Eb, G) is borrowed from C minor. Going from Fmaj9 to Abmaj7, two notes drop a half step (A to Ab and E to Eb) while C and G stay put. The mood goes from warm to nostalgic in one move. When the loop starts over, the Ab falls to G and the Eb lifts to E, so landing back on Cmaj9 feels like sunlight. Perfect for a hook.

5. The minor key mood: i9, v7, VImaj7, iv9 (Am9, Em7, Fmaj7, Dm9)

A minor key loop for sad, late-night pluggnb. Em7 is the minor five chord, so it doesn't pull hard back to Am the way an E7 would. It just drifts. The trick: every chord in this loop contains an E. Keep that E as the top note of every voicing while the bass moves underneath, and the loop sounds hazy instead of dramatic.

6. The soft two five one: ii9, V9sus4, Imaj9 (Dm9, G9sus4, Cmaj9)

A normal G7 pulls hard toward C, and that can sound a bit too "jazz class" for pluggnb. G9sus4 (G, C, D, F, A) keeps the C instead of the B, so the pull is gentle. Dm9 and G9sus4 share four notes (D, F, A and C), so you're basically just changing the bass note. Hold Cmaj9 for two bars at the end and you've got a four bar loop.

Cheat sheet: notes in every chord

• Cmaj9: C, E, G, B, D
• Cmaj9/E: C, E, G, B, D with E in the bass
• Dm9: D, F, A, C, E
• Em7: E, G, B, D
• Fmaj7: F, A, C, E
• Fmaj9: F, A, C, E, G
• Gadd9: G, B, D, A
• G9sus4: G, C, D, F, A
• Abmaj7: Ab, C, Eb, G
• Am9: A, C, E, G, B

You don't have to play every note. With five note chords, drop the fifth first. It adds the least color.

How to make these chords sound like pluggnb

1. Pick a soft sound. Electric piano, a glassy bell, a warm pad or a soft synth. A bright grand piano turns the same chords into a ballad.
2. Play block chords. Hold the chord and let it ring. Let the 808 and the melody carry the rhythm.
3. Keep voicings close. Move every note as little as possible from chord to chord, and try putting the ninth right next to the root or the third. Our guide to chord inversions shows how.
4. Play quietly. Lower the velocity so the chords sit behind the drums and the vocal.
5. Cut the low end. A high-pass filter on the chords keeps them from fighting with the 808.
6. Tune your 808 to the chords. Extended chords make an out-of-tune 808 really obvious. Here's how to tune an 808 in FL Studio.

Get the base chords as free MIDI

Don't feel like clicking every note into the piano roll? Open our free Chord Progression Generator, pick the R&B or Chill mood (both use seventh chords), choose major or minor, 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 add the pluggnb touches from this article yourself, like a ninth on top or a borrowed chord at the end of the loop.

Writing chords over a sample or loop you already have? Check its key and BPM first with Beat Lab, so your progression actually fits. Ready to build the whole beat? Follow how to make a pluggnb beat in FL Studio for the drums, 808 and arrangement.

Recording vocals over your pluggnb beat?

Pluggnb is made for melodic, tuned vocals that float on top of the chords. If you record sung hooks or melodic rap yourself, the Frenna-Inspired Vocal Preset Bundle gives you a starting chain in Logic Pro or FL Studio with stock plugins only. Frenna is a Dutch artist known for melodic, autotuned and upfront vocals, a similar lane to the melodic rap and R&B-leaning side of Drake's records. It's a style reference and a starting point you tweak for your own voice, not a copy of anyone's vocal chain, and not affiliated with or endorsed by either artist.

FAQ

What chords are used in pluggnb?

Mostly extended chords: major sevenths, minor sevenths and ninths, played as soft block chords on electric piano, bells or pads. Close voicings with neighboring notes give the typical bittersweet sound.

Is pluggnb in a major or minor key?

Both. Major key loops with maj9 chords sound warm and nostalgic, minor key loops sound sadder. Progressions 1 to 4 and 6 above are major, progression 5 is minor.

What's the difference between pluggnb chords and R&B chords?

There's a lot of overlap, since pluggnb borrows from R&B. Pluggnb usually keeps it simpler: shorter loops, held block chords and fewer jazzy moves, with the bittersweet voicings doing the work. For more R&B ideas, check our R&B chord progressions, and for richer jazz moves, the neo soul chord progressions.

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 don't copy someone else's actual recording or melody.

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