Dua Lipa - Illusion - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords Ebm, Abm, B, E, Db, Bbm, Bmaj7, Ab2 … Easy key Ab

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Capo 0

Ebm                      B
    I been known to miss a red flag
Abm                     E
    I been known to put my lover on a pedestal
Ebm                         B
   In the end, those things just don't last
Abm                    Bb/D
   And it's time I take my rose coloured glasses off

Ebm
  I already know your type
Bmaj7
Telling me the things I like
Abm
Tryna make me yours for life
E
Taking me for a ride
Ebm
I already know your type
Bmaj7
Think you can play your cards right
Ab2                           Eb
    Don't you know I could do this dance all night

Ebm       Db  B
Ooh, whatcha doing
Bbm  Abm                              Ebm E
  Don't know who you think that you're confusing
            Ebm   Db  B
I be like, "Ooh, it's amusing"
Bbm Abm                        Ebm E      Ebm    Db B
You think I'm gonna fall for an illu u u u u u u usion
Bbm  Abm

Ebm  E
Ebm  Db  B
Bbm  Abm  Ebm  E

Ebm                         B
  Was a time when that shit might've worked
Abm                 E
  Was a time when I just threw a match and let it burn
Ebm                     B
  Now I'm grown, I know what I deserve
Abm                          Bb/D
   I still like dancing with the lessons I already learned

Ebm
  I already know your type
Bmaj7
Telling me the things I like
Abm
  Tryna make me yours for life
E
Taking me for a ride
Ebm
I already know your type
Bmaj7
Think you can play your cards right
Ab2                          Eb
   Don't you know I could do this dance all night

Ebm       Db  B
Ooh, whatcha doing
Bbm  Abm                             Ebm  E
 Don't know who you think that you're confusing
            Ebm   Db  B
I be like, "Ooh, it's amusing"
Bbm Abm                        Ebm  E      Ebm    Db B
You think I'm gonna fall for an illu u u u u u u usion
Bbm  Abm

Ebm  E
Ebm  Db  B
Bbm  Abm  Ebm  E

  Ebm     B                          Abm
Illusion, I really like the way you're moving
      E                             Ebm
Yeah, I just wanna dance with the illusion
      B
Yeah, I just wanna dance with
      Ab2
Yeah, I just wanna dance with
        Eb
I could dance all night

Ebm       Db  B
Ooh, whatcha doing
Bbm Abm                               Ebm  E
  Don't know who you think that you're confusing
            Ebm   Db  B
I be like, "Ooh, it's amusing"
Bbm  Abm                        Ebm  E
You think I'm gonna fall for an illu u u u 
Ebm       Db  B
Ooh, whatcha doing
Bbm   Abm                              Ebm  E
  Don't know who you think that you're confusing
            Ebm   Db  B
I be like, "Ooh, it's amusing"
Bbm  Abm                        Ebm  E     
You think I'm gonna fall for an illu u u u u u u usion

End of song Play again?

Dua Lipa - Illusion Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Dua Lipa – Illusion: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Ebm and ends on E. Its chords belong to both G major and Em, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

G major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = F# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = C (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

E minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = C (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = D (natural-minor colour)
#7 = D# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the E minor side because the major V chord points straight at Em. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from G major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to G or to Em; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	—
bii	Abm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Cb · Eb	19×
bIIsus2	Ab2	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Bb · Eb	3×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	—
biii	Bbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · Db · F	12×
bIII	Bb/D	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Bb · D · F	2×
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
V/vi	B	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	18×
V/vi	Bmaj7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F# · A#	4×
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	—
#IV	Db	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · F · Ab	12×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	—
bvi	Ebm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · Gb · Bb	34×
bVI	Eb	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Eb · G · Bb	3×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	—
VI	E	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G# · B	17×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	—
I	E	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G# · B	17×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	—
#iii	Abm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Cb · Eb	19×
#IIIsus2	Ab2	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Bb · Eb	3×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	—
#iv	Bbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · Db · F	12×
#IV	Bb/D	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · D · F	2×
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	—
V	B	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F#	18×
Vmaj7	Bmaj7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F# · A#	4×
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	—
#VI	Db	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · F · Ab	12×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	—
#vii	Ebm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · Gb · Bb	34×
#VII	Eb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	3×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 10 different chords appear 124 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Em brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from G, the same B / Bmaj7 is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Em. Eb, Bb/D are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

Improvisation tips

G major pentatonic and E minor pentatonic are the same five notes (G – A – B – D – E): start from G for a brighter phrase, from E for a bluesier one.
Over Ebm, land on Eb, Gb, Bb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Abm, land on Ab, Cb, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over B, land on B, D#, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When B comes, swap the scale's D for D#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On Eb, follow the chord's notes (Eb · G · Bb) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With G major shapes

No capo — open G shapes
Capo 3 + E shapes
Capo 5 + D shapes

With E minor shapes

No capo — open Em shapes
Capo 2 + Dm shapes
Capo 7 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

1 semitone up
6 semitones up · capo 6 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Ebm; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is Ebm, Abm, B, E — bvi–bii–V/vi–VI from the G side, #vii–#iii–V–I from the Em side. B is the interesting twist: in G it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Em it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Ending on E, the song seals G as home.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.