What makes a chord progression sound sad? Usually a minor key: a minor home chord, the minor iv, the flat VI, and a slow harmonic rhythm where each chord gets a bar or two to sink in. Below are 13 sad chord progressions with their chord names and Roman numerals, and every one of them plays in your browser and downloads as MIDI.
Each progression is a real take from Melody Generator, made from the prompt written on its card. That is text to MIDI for chords: describe the mood, the tempo or the key, and get chord MIDI back that you can drop into your DAW.
Chord names and numerals are read from each take's notes; the numerals are relative to the key on the card. Press play, download the MIDI with a free account, or make more like it in the app.
Chords: Gm · F · Gm · Cm/G · F · Eb · F · Gm · F · Eb · D · Gm · F · Eb · D
Roman numerals: i · VII · i · iv · VII · VI · VII · i · VII · VI · V · i · VII · VI · V in G minor
Minor i stepping down through VII and VI, and in the second half a major V (D) that ends each phrase; the loop stops on that V, so it hangs there until Gm comes back at the top.
Chords: Bbm · Ab · Eb/G · Gb ×4
Roman numerals: i · VII · IV · VI in Bb minor
A minor i over a bass that walks down step by step (Bb, Ab, G, Gb) and lands on the flat VI, at a slow 68 bpm.
Chords: Cmaj7 · Em7 · Cm9 · Ebmaj7/F · Cm9 · Ebmaj7/F · Abmaj7
Roman numerals: Imaj7 · #iii7 · i9 · IIImaj7 · i9 · IIImaj7 · VImaj7 in C minor
It opens on a bright Cmaj7, then the same root turns minor (Cm9) in bar 3 and never goes back until the loop starts again.
Chords: Em7 · D · Cmaj7 · D ×4 (the last D becomes Bm7)
Roman numerals: i7 · VII · VImaj7 · VII in E minor
A minor i7 to VImaj7 to VII loop; on the last pass the major D becomes a minor v (Bm7), so the end feels resigned instead of lifting.
Chords: Bbm · Ab · Gb · Ab · Bbm · Ab/Bb · Bbm · Ab/Bb · Bbm · Ab · F · Bbm
Roman numerals: i · VII · VI · VII · i · VII · i · VII · i · VII · V · i in Bb minor
Bb minor with the flat VI (Gb) in bar 2, Ab over a Bb bass that keeps the minor root underneath, and a major V (F) that pulls straight back to Bbm.
Chords: C#m · C · Em/B · Edim/Bb ×2
Roman numerals: i · bI · iii · iii° in C# minor
The bass sinks a half step every bar (C#, C, B, Bb) under an E that stays on top of every chord, so the harmony keeps falling until the loop starts over on C#m.
Chords: Bbsus4 · Bb · Cm7 · Gm/Bb · Ab · Gm7 · Fm · Ab · Eb/G · Fm · Fm7/Eb
Roman numerals: Vsus4 · V · vi7 · iii · IV · iii7 · ii · IV · I · ii · ii7 in Eb major
It sits in Eb major, but most of its bars sit on minor chords (Cm7, Gm, Fm), and the bass walks down step by step twice (Bb, Ab, G, F, then Ab, G, F, Eb), like a slow sigh.
Chords: Dm7 · C/E · Dm · Gm7/D · C/D ×4
Roman numerals: i7 · VII · i · iv7 · VII in D minor
It never leaves D minor: the bass only steps up to E and back to D, and the minor iv (Gm7) sits over that same D, so the loop stays dark and heavy.
Chords: D#m · G#m7 · B6 · C# ×4
Roman numerals: i · iv7 · VI6 · VII in D# minor
Minor i to a minor iv7, then VI and VII climb back up to the minor root, so every pass lands on minor again, at a mellow 72 bpm.
Chords: G#m · D#m · E ×4
Roman numerals: i · v · VI in G# minor
Minor i to a minor v (no leading tone pulling it home) and the flat VI, with the bass slipping from E down to D# on every other pass before it starts again.
Chords: G · F# · F#sus4 · F#
Roman numerals: bII · I · Isus4 · I in F# major
Not a minor loop: the sadness comes from the slow 72 bpm, the half-step drop from G to F#, and the gospel sus4 sighs that keep tugging at the F# chord without going anywhere.
A minor chord progression uses the chords of a minor key. In C minor the i, iv and v chords are minor (Cm, Fm, Gm) and the III, VI and VII chords are major (Eb, Ab, Bb), which is why minor progressions can still move between dark and warm. These two were asked for by key.
Chords: Dm7 · Cm7 · F9sus4 · F/G · Fm9 · Abmaj7/Bb · Gm7 · Am7/D · Gm7 · Cm
Roman numerals: ii7 · i7 · IV9sus4 · IV · iv9 · VImaj7 · v7 · #vi7 · v7 · i in C minor
An F chord turns minor (F/G to Fm9) at bar 3, then a minor v (Gm7) fills most of the second half before the loop comes home to Cm on the last two beats.
Chords: C#m/E · Amaj7 · F#sus2 · E/F# ×4
Roman numerals: i · VImaj7 · IVsus2 · III in C# minor
C# minor at 64 bpm, the slowest here: the minor i falls to the flat VI (Amaj7), and the sus2 chord leaves out its third, so the loop never brightens.
Want one of these in another key? Transpose the MIDI in your DAW, or ask Melody Generator for the key you need.
Mostly the minor key. A minor home chord (i), the minor iv and the flat VI pull the sound down, and a slow tempo with chords that change every bar or two gives it room to sink in. A bass line that steps down, like Bb, Ab, G, Gb, adds to it.
No. Minor chords sound darker than major ones, but tempo, rhythm and sound matter just as much: a fast minor loop can sound tense or hype instead of sad. Major progressions can sound sad too, with slow suspensions or a major chord that turns minor.
Download the MIDI with a free account, drop it into FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic Pro or any other DAW, and put your own keys, pad or guitar sound on it. Build the drums around the loop, then add a melody on top: the chord names tell you which notes fit.
Yes. Download the MIDI and transpose it in your DAW, or type the key you want into Melody Generator (for example “sad R&B chords in A minor”) and get new takes in that key.
Looking for melodies too? The Melody Generator homepage has melody takes to play, and text to MIDI shows prompts that work.
Free with Google sign-in. Four takes per prompt.