Deep house chord progressions

Deep house lives on seventh chords. A minor seventh sounds warm instead of sad, and moving between two of them is often all a deep house track needs. These progressions are in A, with the sevenths on.

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Dorian i7 to IV7

A dorian
Am7i7D7IV7

Am7 to D7. The Dorian move: the major IV chord brightens the minor home chord.

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Minor sevenths

A minor
Am7i7Em7v7

i7 to v7. Two minor sevenths a fifth apart, smooth and late-night.

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Falling sevenths

A minor
Am7i7Fmaj7VImaj7G7VII7

i7, VImaj7, VII7. A gentle three-chord loop with a lift at the end.

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iv7 and back

A dorian
Am7i7D7IV7Am7i7Em7v7

i7, IV7, i7, v7. Four bars of Dorian that never leave the warmth of the home chord for long.

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Making them sound like deep house

  • Turn on the sevenths: in deep house almost every chord has one.
  • Hold the chords as soft pads or play them on an electric piano, with a slow attack and a long release.
  • Leave space. Deep house often keeps the same two chords for a whole section.

Every progression on the site, in every key, as MIDI in one zip: free MIDI chord progressions.

More chord progressions

Chord progressions by key

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Questions

What chords are used in deep house?

Mostly minor seventh chords and Dorian progressions, often only two chords. The seventh is what gives deep house its warm, unresolved sound.

What is Dorian, and why is it used in deep house?

Dorian is a minor scale with a raised sixth. That makes the fourth chord major instead of minor, so a minor track can move to a bright chord without leaving the key. It is the classic soulful sound.

How do I voice deep house chords?

Keep the notes close together and let notes the chords share stay where they are, so the pad moves smoothly. The MIDI on this page is voiced that way.

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