How to Make The Nights Chord Progression in FL Studio (Avicii)

The Nights is Avicii at his most anthemic. Released in 2014 as part of the Stories era, it took the folk-EDM blueprint of Wake Me Up and added more electric guitar, bigger orchestral elements, and an even more emotionally charged progression.

The chord progression is the foundation of everything. Here's how to build it.

Step 1: Project Setup

• BPM: 126
• Key: E minor
• Time signature: 4/4

Enable Piano Roll scale highlighting and set it to E natural minor (E - F# - G - A - B - C - D). Most notes in the progression fall within this scale.

Step 2: The Chord Progression

The core loop of The Nights:

Bar 1: Em  (E - G - B)
Bar 2: C   (C - E - G)
Bar 3: G   (G - B - D)
Bar 4: D   (D - F# - A)

Pattern: i - VI - III - VII in E minor.

This is one of the most powerful progressions in modern pop and EDM. The reason: it starts in a minor key (Em) — which has emotional weight, a feeling of searching or loss — but moves through major chords (C, G, D) that feel progressively more open and resolved. The D major in bar 4 almost sounds like it's about to resolve to E major... but instead, you loop back to the Em, and the cycle of tension and near-resolution continues.

That's why you get chills. It's unresolved in a way that feels meaningful.

Piano Roll Layout

For the chord foundation:

• Note length: 4 beats per chord (whole notes)
• Octave: C4–C5 range for the mid-range pad
• Velocity: 80–90, with slight crescendo toward bar 3 (G major) — the most open-feeling chord

Adding Movement to the Chords

Don't just play block chords. Avicii's productions have chord movement within each bar:

• Add a 4th note above the triad on beat 3 of each bar (Em7, Cmaj7, Gmaj9, Dsus2)
• Or arpeggiate the chords: root on beat 1, fifth on beat 2, third on beat 3, fifth again on beat 4

The arpeggiation creates forward momentum within each chord bar — the track feels like it's always moving even when the underlying harmony is static.

Step 3: The Acoustic Guitar

Like Wake Me Up, The Nights starts with an acoustic guitar feel before the EDM drop. The strumming pattern here is slightly more aggressive — more of a folk-rock energy than the gentle Wake Me Up strumming.

For FL Studio:

1. Use an acoustic guitar sample loop in E minor (Splice, Loopmasters, or a native sample)
2. Or use Ample Guitar M Lite (free) with the chord progression programmed in
3. Strum pattern: Down on beat 1, up-down on beat 2, down on beat 3, up-down on beat 4
4. Velocity variation: ±15% between strums for a human feel

Processing:

• High-pass at 180 Hz
• Room reverb (0.8–1s decay, 18% wet)
• Gentle tape saturation for warmth
• Stereo width: about 60% — don't make it too wide, leave center space for the vocal

Step 4: The Electric Guitar Lead

The Nights has a distinctive electric guitar melody that rides above the chord progression. This is the most technically challenging element to recreate.

The melody: It closely follows the chord tones, ascending and descending with an expressive, slightly bluesy feel. The note choice stays within E minor but occasionally bends to create expressiveness.

In FL Studio:

1. Use Shreddage 3 Riff or a legato electric guitar VST
2. Set the pickup to bridge (brighter)
3. Add a light crunch overdrive (gain ~35%) — not aggressive, just warm
4. Add a stereo delay: 1/8 note, 30% feedback, 25% wet — creates the shimmering trailing effect
5. Spring reverb or plate reverb: 2s decay, 20% wet

The bend technique in Piano Roll:

• Use FL Studio's pitch bend controller in the Piano Roll
• On sustained notes (quarter notes or longer), draw a slight pitch curve — rise from the target pitch and then settle
• This simulates the natural vibrato of a played guitar note

Step 5: The String/Orchestral Elements

The Nights has subtle string layers that add grandeur, especially in the drop and outro.

Quick string setup in FL Studio:

1. Use FLEX (built-in) with a string ensemble preset, or Spitfire LABS Strings (free)
2. Play long sustained notes following the root of each chord
3. Automate the filter cutoff to open slightly in the drop sections
4. Keep strings in the background — -14 to -16 dBFS below the lead
5. Stereo: very wide (80–100%), since strings in a real mix are spread across the ensemble

The strings shouldn't be obvious on first listen. They're felt more than heard — creating emotional weight without competing with the main elements.

Step 6: The Drop

The EDM drop of The Nights combines:

• Supersaw lead playing the chord progression melody
• Four-on-the-floor kick at 126 BPM
• Tight clap on 2 and 4
• Sidechain compression from kick to synths and guitar
• Bass following the root notes

For the drop supersaw (same approach as Levels but in E minor):

• Set it to play a melody over the Em - C - G - D progression
• The melody is more aggressive than the Levels lead — cut the filter less, let more top-end through
• Layer with the electric guitar sample for an organic-electronic hybrid sound

Build into the drop:

• 8-bar filter sweep: Automate low-pass filter from 400 Hz → full open
• Snare roll: Last bar before drop, 16th note snare/snare-like sound accelerating
• Noise riser: White noise sweeping up in pitch over 4 bars
• Reverse crash: Hit the downbeat of the drop

Step 7: Arrangement Structure

0:00 – 0:45  Intro (acoustic guitar, light drums, no synths)
0:45 – 1:15  Verse (add bass, more percussion, vocal if used)
1:15 – 1:30  Pre-drop build
1:30 – 2:15  Drop 1 (full production, supersaw lead)
2:15 – 2:45  Breakdown (acoustic guitar + strings only)
2:45 – 3:00  Build 2
3:00 – 3:45  Drop 2 (same as drop 1, often with additional layers)
3:45 – 4:00  Outro (strip back to acoustic)

The Nights spends more time in the acoustic/breakdown sections than most EDM tracks. This is intentional — it makes the drops hit harder by contrast.

Step 8: The Emotional Architecture

This is the real lesson from The Nights.

Avicii understood that emotion in music comes from contrast and anticipation. Every production choice serves the emotional arc:

• The acoustic guitar intro creates intimacy and vulnerability
• The slowly building drop creates anticipation
• The drop's full EDM production creates release and euphoria
• The breakdown strips everything back — reestablishing vulnerability
• The final drop carries even more weight because you've been through the cycle once

When building your own tracks, think about this arc before you think about specific sounds. Where does the listener feel small and intimate? Where do they feel released and euphoric? The chord progression and arrangement should guide the listener through that emotional journey.

The Nights does this in 4 minutes. That's the craft.

Related Resources

• How to Make Levels in FL Studio — Avicii's most iconic track breakdown
• How to Make Wake Me Up Chords in FL Studio — The folk-EDM blueprint
• Applying Avicii's Production Secrets — The broader production philosophy
• Music Theory Part 1 — Why these chord progressions work emotionally
• FL Studio Workflow Part 1 — Building complete tracks in FL Studio