Sus4 Chords

This article is about suspended fourth chords. In a previous article, we discussed suspended second chords. You can find the link to that topic here: https://www.rhythmguitarlessons.net/sus-2-chords. Today, though, I will discuss suspended fourth chords, what they are, how to play them, and when you can use them. 

Before we get into the suspended fourth chords, I must go over some boring (to some) music theory stuff. It is short and quick. To construct a chord, for example, let's say a C major chord. We first look at the notes of a C major scale, (1)C-(2)D-(3)E-(4)F-(5)G-(6)A-(7)B. We generally take the first, third, and fifth notes, or C-E-G, to build the chord. When played simultaneously, these three notes make a C major chord. To construct a C-suspended fourth chord, remove and replace the third note with the fourth note. Here, C-F-G will give us the C-suspended fourth chord. These suspended fourth (sus4) chords aren't major or minor chords because that one note that we removed is the one that determines whether it's a major or minor chord. Therefore, these sus4 chords can be used anywhere you want in place of a major or minor chord. 

Whether they sound good to you or not is totally up to you. It is entirely subjective. You can experiment and try different things out. See if you like the way that it sounds. Here are the fingerings and explanation of some sus4 chords.

G sus4 chord (Scale=G-A-B-C-D-E-F#):

• Place the  pinky finger on the third fret (root) of the high E string, 
• First finger on the first fret of the B string, and
• Play the open D and open G (root) strings. 

D sus4 chord (Scale=D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#):

• Place the pinky on the third fret of the high E string,
• Ring finger on the third fret (root) of the B string
• The first finger is on the second fret of the G string, and the open D string is also played.

C sus4 chord (Scale=C-D-E-F-G-A-B):

• Ring finger on the third fret (root) of the A string.
• Pinky on the D string right below on the third fret of the D string 
• Playing the open G string
• The first finger will be on the B string's first fret (root). 
• NOTE: do not play the low or high E strings, just the four middle strings. 

Try using sus4 chords instead of the major or minor chords in your songs; see what you think!

Remember to always have fun with your guitar and I’ll see you next time…

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About Mark Turko: Mark Turko is a professional guitar player and instructor with over 30 years of experience and teaches guitar lessons online.