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14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?The 100 most repeated chord transitions extracted from thousands of songs. Even the first 10 will transform your guitar practice routine.

Lady Gaga - Perfect Illusion Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsEm, D, C, Bm, A, B, F, G
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

EmTryingtogetDcontrol,Cpressure’stakingitsBmtoll
EmStuckinthemiddleDzone,CIjustwantyouDalone
EmMyguessinggameisDstrong,CwaytoorealtobeDwrong
EmCaughtupinyourshow,Dyeah,atCleastnowIknow
Itwasn’tEmlove,Ditwasn’tClove,Bmitwasa
EmPerfectDillusion C(perfectDillusion)
MistakenforEmlove,Ditwasn’tClove,Bmitwasa
EmPerfectDillusion C(perfectDillusion)
EmYouDwereaCperfectillusion
EmIdon’tneedeyestoDsee,CIfeltyoutouchingBmme
EmHighlikeDamphetamine,Cmaybeyou’rejustaDdream
EmThat’swhatitmeanstoDcrush,CnowthatI’mwakingDup
EmIstillfeeltheDblowbutatCleastnowIknowD
Itwasn’tEmlove,Ditwasn’tClove,Bmitwasa
EmPerfectDillusion C(perfectDillusion)
MistakenforEmlove,Ditwasn’tClove,Bmitwasa
EmPerfectDillusion C(perfectDillusion)
EmWhereareyou’causeIcan’tsee,DbutifIfeelyouwatchingme
ADilated,fallingfree,Cinamodernecstasy
EmWherewereyou’causeIcan’tsee.
DWhydidIfeelyouwatchingme.
AWhydidIfeelyouwatchingme.
CWhydidIfeelyouwatchingme.
EmWhereareyou’causeIcan’tsee,DbutifIfeelyouwatchingme.
ADilated,fallingfree,Cinamodernecstasy.
BmInamodernecstasy,Bminamodernecstasy.
BmI’movertheshow,butatBleastnowIknow.
Itwasn’tFlove,Gitwasn’tDlove,Citwasa
FPerfectGillusion D(perfectCillusion)
MistakenforFlove,Gitwasn’tDlove,Citwasa
FPerfectGillusion D(perfectCillusion)
FAhhhhhhh,Gahhhhhh
FAhhhhhhh,GyouwereaDperfectCillusion
FAhhhhhhh,Gahhhhhh
FAhhhhhhh,GitwasaDperfectCillusion
Itwasaperfectillusion,somewhereinalltheconfusion
Itwasaperfectillusion,illusion,illusion
FWherewereyou’causeIGcan’tsee DitC
FButifIfeelyouGwatching DmeC
FDilated,Gfalling DfreeC
FInamodernGecstasy,youwereaDperfectCillusion
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on guitar.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master guitar today with the most repeated high-impact chord transitions.
ArtistLady Gaga
AlbumJoanne
GenresPop, Electronic
Year2016
KeyEm
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Perfect Illusion on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Lady Gaga - Perfect Illusion on guitar requires 8 chords and 12 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

Perfect Illusion uses these transitions most often: D → C (29), Em → D (20), and C → F (12). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with Em - D chord transition.

1. Em → D chord transition

Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram

Here's how to move from Em to D:

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 2 to B string fret 3.
  3. Place index finger on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 20 times.

Em to D

2. D → C chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram

To move from D to C:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 29 times.

D to C

3. C → Bm chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar Bm chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-3-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar Bm chord diagram

Switching from C to Bm:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to B string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on G string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

C to Bm

4. Bm → Em chord transition

Guitar Bm chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-3-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar Bm chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

Switching from Bm to Em:

  1. While playing Bm, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your middle finger from B string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on D string from fret 4 to fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

Bm to Em

5. C → Em chord transition

Switching from C to Em:

  1. While playing C, lift your index finger from B string fret 1.
  2. Lift your middle finger from D string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

6. D → A chord transition

Switching from D to A:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 3 to fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

7. A → C chord transition

To move from A to C:

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

8. Bm → B chord transition

To move from Bm to B:

  1. Keep index finger on E string fret 2.
  2. Lift your middle finger from B string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 4.
  3. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 4 to G string fret 4.
  4. Lift your pinky from G string fret 4 and place it on B string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse.

9. B → F chord transition

Switching from B to F:

  1. Slide your index finger on E string from fret 2 to fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 4 to G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 4 and place it on A string fret 3.
  4. Slide your pinky from B string fret 4 to D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus.

10. F → G chord transition

To move from F to G:

  1. While playing F, lift your pinky from D string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  4. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 12 times.

11. G → D chord transition

Switching from G to D:

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to E string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 12 times.

12. C → F chord transition

Here's how to move from C to F:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 12 times.

Perfect Illusion chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Perfect Illusion.

  • Perfect Illusion includes 128 chord transitions, 12 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Perfect Illusion contains 7 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Perfect Illusion connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After D, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (29%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → A: 17%
    • D → Em: 17%
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → F: 16%
    • C → D: 11%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains from real songs. See which songs use each chain and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.