Major view
B major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = A# (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = E (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Ed Sheeran - Afterglow - Chord
Key B major – G# minor Chords C9, G, D4, Em7 Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: B | Abm | G#m
Capo: 0
G
Stop the clocks, it's amazing
C9
You should see the way
The light dances off your hair
D4 Em7
A million colours of hazel
C9
Golden and red
G
Saturday morning is fading
C9
The Sun's reflected by the coffee
In your hand
D4 Em7
My eyes are caught in your gaze all
C9
Over again
C9
We were love drunk
Waiting on a miracle
G
Trying to find ourselves
D4
In the winter snow
C9
So alone in love
G D4
Like the world had disappeared
C9
Oh, I won't be silent
And I won't let go
G
I will hold on tighter
D4
Till the afterglow
C9
And we'll burn so bright
G D4
Till the darkness softly clears
C9 G D4
Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow
C9 G
Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow
G
The weather outside's changing
C9
The leaves are buried under
Six inches of white
D4 Em7 C9
The radio is playing Iron & Wine
G
This is a new dimension
C9
This is a level where we're losing
track of time
D4 Em7
I'm holding nothing against it
C9
Except you and I
C9
We were love drunk
Waiting on a miracle
G
Trying to find ourselves
D4
In the winter snow
C9
So alone in love
G D4
Like the world had disappeared
C9
Oh, I won't be silent
And I won't let go
G
I will hold on tighter
D4
Till the afterglow
C9
And we'll burn so bright
G D4
Till the darkness softly clears
C9 G D4
Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow
C9 G D4
Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow
C9 G
Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow
End of song Play again?
Ed Sheeran - Afterglow Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Ed Sheeran – Afterglow: key and chord analysis
The song opens on G and ends on G. Its chords belong to both B major and G#m, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
G# minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = E (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = F# (natural-minor colour)
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between B major and G# minor. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.
Chord degrees: major and relative minor
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to B or to G#m; 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | B | Tonic — home | B · D# · F# | — |
| bII7 | C9 | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | C · E · G · Bb · D | 21× |
| ii | C#m | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | C# · E · G# | — |
| bIII | D4 | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | D · F# · A | 15× |
| iii | D#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | D# · F# · A# | — |
| III | D# | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | D# · G · A# | — |
| IV | E | Subdominant — moves away from home | E · G# · B | — |
| iv7 | Em7 | Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | E · G · B · D | 4× |
| V | F# | Dominant — strongest pull home | F# · A# · C# | — |
| bVI | G | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | G · B · D | 17× |
| vi | G#m | Relative minor — the melancholy side | G# · B · D# | — |
| vii° | A#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | A# · C# · E | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | G#m | Tonic — home | G# · B · D# | — |
| ii° | A#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | A# · C# · E | — |
| III | B | Relative major — the bright side | B · D# · F# | — |
| #III7 | C9 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C · E · G · Bb · D | 21× |
| iv | C#m | Subdominant — moves away from home | C# · E · G# | — |
| #IV | D4 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | D · F# · A | 15× |
| v | D#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | D# · F# · A# | — |
| V | D# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | D# · G · A# | — |
| VI | E | Submediant — warm colour | E · G# · B | — |
| vi7 | Em7 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B · D | 4× |
| VII | F# | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | F# · A# · C# | — |
| #VII | G | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | G · B · D | 17× |
Analysis
The key pair is B major and its relative G# minor (5 sharps). 4 different chords appear 57 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C9, G, D4, Em7 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
- B major pentatonic and G# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (B – C# – D# – F# – G#): start from B for a brighter phrase, from G# for a bluesier one.
- Over C9, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over D4, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- On C9, follow the chord's notes (C · E · G · Bb · D) 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 B major shapes
- Capo 2 + A shapes
- Capo 4 + G shapes
- Capo 7 + E shapes
With G# minor shapes
- Capo 4 + Em shapes
- Capo 6 + Dm shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.
The song's harmonic story
Starting on G, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is C9, G, D4, Em7 — bII7–bVI–bIII–iv7 from the B side, #III7–#VII–#IV–vi7 from the G#m side. C9 briefly darkens the picture: neapolitan bii — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonic. It closes on G, letting the B side have the last word.
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.
Ed Sheeran - Afterglow Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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