Dark Trap / Hip-Hop — the 6m-4-2m-3m progression

What is the 6m-4-2m-3m progression?

four numbers, four chords: each number is the scale degree a chord is built on, so the same chart plays in every key. In C major, 6m-4-2m-3m is Am – F – Dm – Em. The chords, by role:

• 6m — the vi, the relative minor
• 4 — the IV, the lift away from home
• 2m — the ii, a step above home
• 3m — the iii, the darkest chord in the key

Dark Trap / Hip-Hop in other keys

Change the key and every chord moves together. The same 6m-4-2m-3m in four common guitar keys:

• G major: Em – C – Am – Bm
• D major: Bm – G – Em – F#m
• A major: F#m – D – Bm – C#m
• E major: C#m – A – F#m – G#m

Every chord in C major — and each key's page lists its own seven, so any progression can be spelled from there.

Why it works

It starts on the relative minor and never lands on the major I until late, if at all, which keeps the loop bittersweet: minor at the start of every bar, but the major IV and V keeping it from turning sad. That tension is why it repeats so well.

Songs that use 6m-4-2m-3m

These songs are built on this progression, in whole or in a section. Play any of them and you are playing 6m-4-2m-3m:

• moody, minor-key hip-hop / trap staple

How to practice it

1. Play it in C — Am, F, Dm, Em — two beats per chord, until you can loop it without looking at your hands.
2. Open it in the chord builder, press Play, and switch the key while it loops. Your ear will follow the numbers, not the letters.
3. Turn on Smooth Voice Leading and watch it re-finger the changes so each chord moves as little as possible.