Lofi guitar chords are lush seventh chords, like the minor 7 and major 7 colors in this lesson, sometimes with a 9th on top, moved around the neck so each chord sits as close as possible to the one before it. In this lesson I work with three of them: C minor 7, G minor 7 and A flat major 7.
Some people call this sound lofi, some call it neo soul or beats. For me it’s just beautiful, beautiful sounds, and I always thought it was really complicated. I didn’t know how to get there. It’s a lot simpler than it sounds, so in the video and in this post we go from plain shell chords to a melody note on top, then through the inversions of each chord, and finally to connecting them with as little motion as possible.
What are lofi guitar chords?
They’re jazz seventh chords played so they flow into each other. Lofi, neo soul and a lot of hip-hop take many elements from jazz, and to me that lush feeling on guitar comes from voice leading and from messing around with the color of each chord.
The three chords in this lesson are C minor 7 (C, E flat, G, B flat), G minor 7 (G, B flat, D, F) and A flat major 7 (A flat, C, E flat, G). Notice how much they share. C minor 7 and A flat major 7 have three notes in common, and C minor 7 and G minor 7 share two. The tonal center I’m working in is C minor pentatonic, with a little bit of G minor as well.
Can you play them as shell chords?
Yes. Shell chords are still seventh chords, just a little less rich and without that top note, and that’s also cool. A shell chord keeps the root, the 3rd and the 7th, which is enough to hear whether a chord is minor 7 or major 7.
If shell chords are new to you, the shell chords lesson covers the shapes. Once C minor 7, G minor 7 and A flat major 7 feel comfortable as shells, you’ve got the skeleton of the progression.
How do you make lofi chords sound lush? Put a melody note on top
Pick a top note and treat it as a melody line. Taking a different melody line on top gives you a different color.
In the video I take B flat. Over A flat major 7, B flat is the 9th, so the chord becomes A flat major 7 9. Later I put D on top, and over C minor 7 that gives me C minor 7 9, because D is the 9th of C.
I always try to know what’s the top note and what’s the bass. I try to know all the notes, really, but that top note is my melody at the end of the day.
Do you need inversions for lofi chords?
For the smooth, lush version, yes. The framework and the creativity have this interesting balance between them: if you don’t know the inversions, you can’t do it, so it’s definitely harder. So near the end of the video I show all the inversions for C minor, G minor and A flat, so you can see those minor 7 and major 7 colors around the fretboard.
An inversion just changes which note is in the bass. Root position has the root on the bottom, first inversion has the 3rd, second inversion has the 5th and third inversion has the 7th. Here’s what I go through:
- C minor 7 from the 5th string. Root position, then first, second and third inversion.
- C minor 7 from the 6th string. The same chord, the same four positions, with new shapes.
- G minor 7. Root position and all three inversions, then the same idea from the 5th string and the 4th string.
- A flat major 7. The same process, including shapes from the 5th string and the 4th string.
Play every one of these in time. When you practice these ideas, it’s extremely helpful to actually play them in time, even if it’s extremely slow. That’s fine as long as it’s in time, and you actually learn a little faster. Take your time with it, too. If it takes a week, two weeks, three weeks, that’s totally fine. I remember when it wasn’t easy at all to do all these shapes and transitions, but the more you do it, the easier it gets, and you start hearing it. And of course, sing it. Really try to listen and understand what’s happening.
How do you connect lofi chords? Use voice leading
Find the closest version of the next chord. Take C minor 7 and look for the G minor 7, or the A flat major 7, that’s nearest to it on the neck, so your fingers barely have to move.
The less motion we have between these chords, the more notes they have together or close by, and therefore we create this little voice leading, which sounds really cool.
Rotem Sivan
In the video, on the 5th string, I go from C minor 7 in first inversion into G minor, then into A flat. Maybe I don’t like a sound, but maybe I do. The point is to try, see what’s available, and create with it.
You can also add motion in the sense of melody. Using the inversions, I move around a little while thinking musically, staying inside the framework of C minor and that C minor pentatonic center. Knowing the framework gives you a lot of freedom, but you still need to make music. Creating with the information is super important.
If you want to go deeper, there’s the Lofi Guitar Masterclass. It covers the lush chords and layered loops behind lofi and neo-soul guitar: locking a loop in time, hearing the tonal center, and the major 7, minor 7, dominant and diminished shapes that show up again and again.
A lofi chord exercise you can try today
This comes from the ideas in the video. Go slowly, and keep it in time.
- Pick a starting shape. Play C minor 7 from the 5th string, slowly and in time.
- Find the closest G minor 7. Look for the version that moves your fingers the least.
- Find the closest A flat major 7. Same rule: as little motion as possible.
- Name the top note. Know which note is on top of each chord. Sing along and really listen.
- Change the color. Try a different top note, like B flat over A flat major 7 for the 9th, and hear how the loop changes.
Then loop the three chords and keep the ones you like. If you want more ways to build these progressions, the neo soul guitar chords lesson shows how to write a loop by keeping one note on top.
Frequently asked questions
What chords are used in lofi music?
Lush seventh chords like minor 7 and major 7, the kind of colors lofi takes from jazz. In this lesson the progression is C minor 7, G minor 7 and A flat major 7, with colors like C minor 7 9 and A flat major 7 9 coming from the top note.
Are lofi chords and neo soul chords the same thing?
They overlap a lot. Some people call this sound lofi, some call it neo soul or beats, and to me it’s just beautiful sounds. Lofi, neo soul and hip-hop all take a lot of elements from jazz, especially voice leading and messing around with the color of each chord.
Do I need to know inversions to play lofi chords?
Shell chords work too. They’re still seventh chords, just a little less rich. For the smooth voice leading that makes lofi sound lush, you need inversions, because that’s how you find the closest version of the next chord instead of jumping around the neck.
How long does it take to learn lofi guitar chords?
Give it time. It might take a week, two weeks or three weeks to get the inversions and transitions under your fingers, and that’s totally fine. Practice them in time, even extremely slowly, and you actually learn a little faster.
Grab your guitar, play C minor 7, and go looking for the closest G minor 7. Then find the closest A flat major 7.
