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Lo-fi music is a distinctly internet-age genre.
In an ever-distracting world, one thing we can all rely on to help us focus or relax is a good long-form lo-fi YouTube video. For those who need it, there are non-stop streams too, such as the well-known Lofi Girl channel that has run with almost no interruptions since 2015.
How exactly is this largely instrumental genre so captivating to so many? Why haven’t listeners grown tired of it? In this guide, we’ll explore the building blocks behind these beats, diving into the harmony of lo-fi chord progressions, what makes them work, and some starting points you can use for your own music. Get ready for atmosphere and world-building, along with a tasty dose of jazz, hip hop, and ambient foundations that can also apply to a range of other styles and musical contexts.
Feel free to use the table of contents below to navigate to a specific section.
What you’ll learn:
- What defines lo-fi harmony?
- Remixes and modern adaptations
- How to make lo-fi chord progressions
- Get lo-fi chord progression samples on Splice
What defines lo-fi harmony?
Lo-fi harmony feigns simplicity, but unmistakably has some thoughtful music theory behind it. For example, it’s not uncommon to encounter lo-fi tracks consisting of only two chords—but they’ll rarely just be basic triads.
In order to convey its nuanced moods, lo-fi music leans on harmonically rich chords. By centering unique voicings such as extensions and inversions, minimal chord progressions can blossom and remain interesting as embellishing instrumentation is brought in and out.
There’s also incredible patience exercised by expert lo-fi producers; the pacing is just as important as the chords themselves. By presenting us with unhurried music, they allow the listener to slow their own mind and focus. The musical ideas can extend for longer than more commercial genres afford us, becoming mantric and resting in the back of our consciousness, as other stylings like ambient and Muzak were written to do.
Remixes and modern adaptations
As an aside, it’s important to note that since its inception, lo-fi music has become a huge source of nostalgia. It has seeped into film and pop culture universes in a way that certain genres have been able to do throughout music history.
A major way in which this happened is through adaptations, or bringing existing music into the lo-fi context. The tempo is shifted and a few instruments may be removed or added, but the central focus is the recognizable core melody and chord progression (with some of the extensions and inversions mentioned above possibly added).
Beloved songs from franchises such as The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Pokémon have all taken on the shape of this chilled-out genre:
This also applies to any classical music, not just ones that appeal to modern franchises. Have a listen to a classic piano piece by Erik Satie, reimagined in a lo-fi context:
While much of our exploration here is about writing lo-fi music from scratch, you can also enjoy recreating your favorite songs, or perhaps your own work in other genres, as an exercise of the craft.
How to make lo-fi chord progressions
From here, we’ll focus on song-starters. Below are a few examples and ideas that you might use to begin your journey in lo-fi music composition.
Jazzy lo-fi chord progressions
If you’re ever in need of harmonic inspiration, look no further than jazz. As opposed to traditional pop progressions like I – IV – V or I – V – vi – IV, jazz famously centers around the ii – V – I, often dressed up with lots of extensions and borrowed chords from parallel keys. For the purposes of lo-fi, we only need a few of those chords to build a song around.
Incorporating 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, and more
As mentioned, thinking beyond the basic triad is essential to lo-fi music theory. Each chord is given more space to breathe, so the more coloration we can give it, the better.
Through extended chords and their many ways of being voiced, you can build a stronger sense of how to connect multiple chords in a progression:
- Major / minor 7th chords can add immediate melancholy, especially in a slowed tempo. Experiment with all types of synths and keys (the free Soft Piano in Splice INSTRUMENT can be a great starting point), as well as with a guitar if you have one on hand.
- 9th and 11th chords can create feelings of wonder, warmth, and curiosity. As these chords are using the 2nd and 4th notes an octave up, we can achieve the same feeling of standard suspended chords with a wider sonic range for the listener to fall into.
- 13th chords embody the same widening effect brought by the dreamy world of 6th chords. You’ll find that by adding in just one extra note across different octaves, your chords can begin to take on a whole new character.
Overall, extended chords can be easily connected in a progression. By using more than three notes from a scale, each chord has a higher chance of overlapping with another, whether that’s an inverted version or one with wider or narrower octave ranges.
Take a Dm7 and an FM7 as an example; given their significant overlap of notes (F, A, and C), we can design transitions between them to feel incredibly smooth to the listener. These gentle, effortless transitions between harmonically rich chords is a foundation of the genre to master.
Creating atmosphere with audio effects
All of these considerations have been without the timbral aspects of the instrument. Once you’ve found a nice set of chords to move between, it’s easy to see why adding syrupy reverb and grinding the tempo to a near-halt is so tempting. We want the notes to breathe, and time-based effects in particular can create a true sense of respiration.
Then, there are the effects that imitate analog hardware. Vinyl crackle is one of the easiest, set-and-forget elements of a lo-fi track, providing gentle noise to pepper between the slowly moving notes. Similarly, tape saturation can replicate some of the most beloved qualities of recording to tape, evoking the nostalgia of less “perfect” recording technologies.
For more on the production side of making lo-fi music, take a look at our dedicated guide:
Get lo-fi chord progression samples on Splice
Hopefully this article gave you a solid foundational look into writing your own lo-fi chord progressions. If you’re looking for more sources for inspiration, be sure to also check out lo-fi chord progression samples on Splice Sounds—here are just a few:
And there you have it! What are your favorite lo-fi tracks and chord progressions? What topics would you like to see us cover next? Start a conversation with us and an ever-growing community of music creators via the Splice Discord.
Explore lo-fi chord progressions crafted by leading artists and producers on Splice:
September 24, 2026
