Trance Chord Progressions: 6 Euphoric Loops for Your Drops (Free MIDI)

Trance chords have a job that pop chords don't: they have to carry eight or sixteen bars of breakdown with almost no drums, then explode into a drop where the same four chords suddenly feel twice as big. The good news is that the harmony itself is rarely complicated. Most of the magic comes from which chords you pick, how long you hold them and how you chop them up with arps and gates.

Below are 6 trance chord progressions you can put in your DAW right now, from the classic euphoric minor loop to a dramatic descent and a big uplifting major anthem. Every one comes with Roman numerals, the notes in each chord and a tip to make it sound like trance instead of a piano exercise. Almost everything is in A minor or C major, so it's mostly white keys.

What makes a chord progression sound like trance?

• Slow chord changes. Trance usually gives each chord a full bar or even two. With the tempo up around 135 to 140 BPM, that slow harmony against fast drums is what makes it feel huge.
• Minor keys with bright major chords. A lot of trance sits in a minor key but leans on the major chords inside that key (VI, III and VII). That's where the bittersweet, euphoric feeling comes from. Uplifting trance often leans even further toward major.
• Chords turned into rhythm. Long pad chords in the breakdown, then the same chords chopped into 16th notes with an arpeggiator or a gate in the drop.
• Tension before the drop. Suspended chords, a held V chord or a bass that stays on one note build the pressure that the drop releases.

Quick refresher: uppercase numerals (I, IV, V) are major chords, lowercase (i, iv, vi) are minor. The numerals describe the distance from the home chord, so you can move every progression to any key. Need a bigger overview first? Our EDM chord progressions cover the wider dance music side.

6 trance chord progressions to try

1. The euphoric minor loop: i, VI, III, VII (Am, F, C, G)

If you only learn one trance progression, make it this one. It starts sad on Am, then rises through three major chords and never fully settles, so it keeps pulling you into the next bar. One chord per bar, looped for the whole breakdown and drop.

Voicing tip: keep your right hand in one spot. Am as A, C, E, then F as A, C, F, then C as G, C, E and G as G, B, D. Only one or two notes move each time, which keeps a wide supersaw from turning into mush.

2. The long climb: i, iv, VI, VII (Am, Dm, F, G)

Every chord here steps higher than the last one, so the loop feels like it's climbing a staircase. The G at the end pulls hard back to Am, which makes it great for the last bars of a build. Try giving Am two bars and the other chords one bar each for an eight-bar phrase with a strong restart.

3. The pedal tone: VI, VII, i over A (F/A, G/A, Am)

Keep an A in the bass the whole time while the chords above it change. "F/A" just means an F chord with A as the lowest note. Against that steady A, the F and G chords rub a little, and when Am arrives everything clicks into place. This is perfect for a driving offbeat or rolling bass line that stays on one note, a classic trance and psytrance move. Play the bass on the off-beats between the kicks and let the chords do the moving.

4. The dramatic descent: i, VII, VI, V (Am, G, F, E)

Four chords stepping down, ending on E major instead of E minor. That E major chord contains a G#, a note borrowed from the harmonic minor scale, and it pulls very hard back to Am. The result sounds dark, cinematic and a little exotic. It works great for harder, darker trance or as a switch-up in the second half of a breakdown. Want to understand why that G# matters? Read major vs minor explained.

5. The breakdown tension: VI(add9), VII, Vsus4, V (Fadd9, G, Esus4, E)

This is a progression for the moment right before the drop. Fadd9 sounds open and emotional, G lifts it, then Esus4 holds the tension because the third is missing. When it finally resolves to E major, your ear is begging for Am, and that's exactly where the drop lands. Hold the Esus4 for a full bar with a riser on top. More on these chords in sus chords explained.

6. The uplifting major anthem: I, V, vi, IV (C, G, Am, F)

The famous four-chord loop from pop, and a common progression in trance too. In trance it gets a different treatment: slower changes, a big supersaw, a gated pad underneath and a lead melody that rides on top. It's the brightest, most hands-in-the-air option on this list. Want more major loops in this direction? See our happy chord progressions.

Cheat sheet: the notes in every chord

• Am: A, C, E
• C: C, E, G
• Dm: D, F, A
• E: E, G#, B
• Esus4: E, A, B
• F: F, A, C
• Fadd9: F, A, C, G
• F/A: A (bass), F, A, C
• G: G, B, D
• G/A: A (bass), G, B, D

Want them in another key? Keep the Roman numerals and fill in the chords of your key. You can look up the chords of every key on our chords by key page.

How to make these chords sound like real trance

1. Use an arpeggiator. Send the chords through an arpeggiator set to 16th notes, going up or up and down. The harmony stays the same, but now it moves like a sequence. Most DAWs have one built in.
2. Add a trance gate. Chop a long pad into a rhythmic 16th-note pattern by switching the volume on and off. You can use a gate or step volume effect, or simply draw volume automation. This is the pulsing sound you hear under so many trance drops.
3. Pick a wide sound. A supersaw (a stack of slightly detuned saw waves) for the drop, a soft pad for the breakdown. You can use the same MIDI for both.
4. Keep the low end clean. Leave the lowest notes out of your chord voicings and let the bass play the roots. Then sidechain both the bass and the chords to the kick, just like in how to sidechain in FL Studio.
5. Keep voicings close. Move as few notes as possible between chords, so the loop glides instead of jumping. Chord inversions explained shows you how.
6. Build with filters, not more chords. In the build-up, slowly open a low pass filter over 8 or 16 bars. Cut everything for a beat right before the drop, so the first chord of the drop hits harder.
7. Check the tempo and key of your samples. Writing over a vocal or loop you already have? Drop it into Beat Lab to estimate the BPM and key first, so your progression actually fits.

Get trance chords as free MIDI

Don't feel like clicking every note into your piano roll? Open our free chord progression generator. Pick Epic or Sad for minor, emotional trance, or Happy for a brighter uplifting feel. Set your key and tempo, listen in your browser and hit generate until something clicks. Then download the MIDI: you get a chords track plus a bass line on the roots. Load a supersaw, put an arp or gate on the chords and move the bass notes to the off-beats, and you've got a trance loop. The MIDI is free to use in your own releases, commercial ones included.

Chords done and now you need drums? The NAME The House Oneshot Pack Vol. 1 has kicks, claps, open and closed hats, percussion, rides, a shaker and FX samples, all royalty-free. These are the sounds I use in my own productions, and those FX samples come in handy for big risers and transitions into the drop.

FAQ

What is the most common chord progression in trance?

There's no official number one, but loops built from the minor chord and the major chords in its key, like i, VI, III, VII (Am, F, C, G), show up everywhere. In major keys, I, V, vi, IV (C, G, Am, F) is a classic.

Is trance usually in a major or minor key?

Both are common. A lot of trance is written in minor keys with bright major chords on top for that bittersweet feeling. Uplifting trance tends to lean more on major chords.

What BPM is trance?

As a rule of thumb, trance sits around 135 to 140 BPM, with some styles going slower or faster. If you're remaking a vibe from a reference track, measure its tempo first with our BPM and key finder.

How many chords do I need for a trance track?

Three or four is plenty. Trance often loops the same short progression through the whole breakdown and drop and gets its movement from arps, gates, filters and the lead melody.

Can I use these progressions in a release?

Yes. Chord progressions are basic building blocks of music, and the MIDI from our generator is free to use in your own tracks. Just don't copy someone else's actual recording or melody.

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