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  3. IV - iii - ii - I

IV - iii - ii - I

Also known as the neo-soul descending loop.

Four seventh chords stepping down toward the tonic. R and B, neo-soul and lo-fi producers love it because every chord can take a ninth or thirteenth on top without changing the basic movement. Played softly with a slow groove it can loop for minutes.

Hear it in different keys

In F major

IVmaj7 Bbmaj7 iiim7 Am7 iim7 Gm7 Imaj7 Fmaj7

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In C major

IVmaj7 Fmaj7 iiim7 Em7 iim7 Dm7 Imaj7 Cmaj7

Download MIDI

Heard in

Famous songs built on this progression. Learn the loop above and you can play along with them.

Each key above has a MIDI download with every chord played back to back, ready to drop into any DAW or notation program.

Roman numerals show scale degree and quality: uppercase for major, lowercase for minor, a small circle for diminished. Tap any chord above to open its full page, with a diagram and playback.