Suspended Chords

In major or minor chords, there are three different notes: the root, third, and fifth. Therefore, a D chord has D, F#, and A. In a sus4 chord, the third is replaced by the fourth, so the chord contains a root, fourth, and fifth. This pattern gives a sus4 chord the following structure: 1-4-5. The fourth of D is G, so the Dsus4 contains D, G, and A Therefore, the fingering for a Dsus4 chord looks like this:

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As another example, an Asus4 chord (formed x02230) is made up of A, D, and E, as shown here:

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Once you understand this, the following fingerings of common sus4 chords becomes apparent:

Asus4 Bsus4 Dsus4 Esus4 F#sus4 Gsus4

dansm rules

x02230 x24452 xx0233 022200 244422 3x0013

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Once you understand the theory behind sus4 chords, sus2 chords are very similar. Instead of the root, fourth, and fifth in a sus4 chord, a sus2 chord contains the root, second, and fifth. Sus2 chords have the pattern 1-2-5. Therefore, a Dsus2 will contain D, E, and A, giving a fingering which looks like this:

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As another example, an Asus2 chord (formed x02200) is made up of A, B, and E, as shown here:

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Once you understand this, the following fingerings of common sus2 chords becomes apparent:

Asus2 Bsus2 Dsus2

dansm rules

x02200 x24422 xx0230

That's about it with suspended chords. They are really easy to understand once you understand a little bit of theory. Also, I haven't notated many barre chords above because I assume that once you know a Bsus2 or Bsus4 you can figure out how to make a Csus4. Have fun with these, and be happy that the next time you see sus4 you will understand!