NotesProduction note
How to build a chord progression: use eight chords instead of a four-chord loop
2026.10.29
Ask for something vague like "a sad lo-fi track" and you get a safe, common progression. To make a progression flow, decide these five things and say them.
Five things to decide
- Use eight or more chords before the progression repeats. Four-chord loops sound flat
- Add one or two reharmonization techniques. For example: tritone substitution, chromatic mediants, a descending chain of minor sevenths, rootless m9 voicings, the Lydian #11 sound
- End on a resolution. A mature sound comes from voicing, space and a small number of notes, not from a progression that never lands
- Keep the voice leading smooth: hold common tones, move the other voices by a half or whole step, and move the bass by step
- Avoid the stock loops (vi-IV-I-V and the like)
Example requests
In F minor at 84 BPM, one chord per bar, design an eight-chord progression.
Use smooth voice leading and one or two reharmonization techniques (tritone substitution, chromatic mediants).
Avoid stock four-chord loops, and end on a resolution.If you already know the chords you want, hand them over as they are.
Use these chords, one per bar: Dbmaj9 - C7(b9) - Fm9 - Ebm9 - Ab13 - Dbmaj7#11 - Gm7b5 - C7altListen and fix
The progression is settled when you listen to the chords alone (keys and pads are enough). Point to the spot that bothers you and fix it: "The fifth chord floats. Replace it with one that connects more smoothly to the sixth." A good progression often comes out in one go, but if your standard is high, the difference is made by listening and fixing again and again.