This article assumes you are familiar with:
“Fret Hand Finger Weight & Movement Awareness“.
The suspended 4th chord is written as a chord symbol using a letter name and “sus4“. The suspended 4th chord is aptly named because it is a good description of how the chord sounds. Play this:
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
note you can keep finger 2 in place when playing Dsus4
The suspended 4th chord is not always written as a chord symbol. Sometimes it is used as an “embellishment“. Whether it is viewed as a chord or an embellishment depends on the rhythmical properties of its use – when it is played, how long it is played for, and how prominent it is. So, even if you do not see it written, experiment with using it as an embellishment. Sometimes it will work, and sometimes it won’t.
The following are open position sus4 chords resolving to their like-named major chord.
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
note you can keep finger 3 in place when playing Asus4
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
note you can keep finger 1 in place when playing Esus4
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
let finger 1 lightly touch the 1st string to mute is for the Csus4
note you can keep finger 2 in place when playing Csus4
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
let finger 3 lightly touch the 5th string to mute is for the Gsus4
you can actually keep the 5th string muted even on the G if you choose to
Suspended 4th chords can also resolve to, or embellish, their like-named minor.
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
note you can keep finger 1 in place when playing Asus4
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
note you can keep finger 1 in place when playing Dsus4
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
A suspended 4th can be added to a 7th chord to create a “7sus4” chord. It can resolve to its like-named 7th chord or be used to embellish it.
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
note you can keep finger 3 in place when playing Dsus4
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
note you can keep finger 3 in place when playing Asus4
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
note you can keep finger 1 in place when playing Esus4
this G7 shape/fingering can be used any time you want to play G7 but is particularly useful when changing to this G7sus4
the weight/movement here is simply keep the weight and add and/or remove
Two common uses for the “7sus4” chord are the chord progressions V7–V7sus4–1 and V7sus4–V7–1.
Practice Loops 1 & 1a
Practice Loops 2 & 2a
Practice Loops 3 & 3a
Practice Loops 4 & 4a
Practice Loops 5 & 5a
