A7sus4 guitar chord
The standard grips this chord is usually shown with.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About A7sus4 — 2nd inversion
A7sus4 is A, D, E and G — A7 with the third replaced by the fourth.
It sounds leaning rather than shoving. It keeps the flat seventh’s pull and loses the tritone, so it moves without making a hard cadence.
Dominant — it points a fifth down, but softly.
A7sus4 notes and formula
| A | D | E | G |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 | ♭7 |
Also written A7sus or A dominant 7 sus 4. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play A7sus4
A7sus4 in 2nd inversion puts E in the bass instead of A, the 5th of the chord. The notes are the same; what changes is what the bass line does, which is most of why you would reach for it — it lets the lowest voice move by step where the root would have jumped.
2 of A7sus4’s 9 common shapes do this:xx2233x-x-14-14-15-15
Play A7sus4 as a shell — root, third and seventh — and the spare string takes the 9 (B) or the 13 (F#).
All 9 common shapes as fret numbers, lowest string first. Hover or tap one to see it drawn.
- x02030, open position, A, root position, top note E, 3 open strings
- xxx233, 2nd fret, A, root position, top note G, all fretted
- xx2233, 2nd fret, E, 2nd inversion, top note G, all fretted
- 575755, 5th fret, A, root position, top note A, barred
- x-0-7-9-8-10, 7th fret, A, root position, top note D, 1 open string
- x-x-7-9-8-10, 7th fret, A, root position, top note D, all fretted
- x-12-12-12-10-10, 10th fret, A, root position, top note D, barred
- x-12-14-12-15-12, 12th fret, A, root position, top note E, barred
- x-x-14-14-15-15, 14th fret, E, 2nd inversion, top note G, all fretted
How to use A7sus4
In a phrase:Em7→A7sus4→Dmaj7— the ii–V–I of D.
Voice by voice, A7sus4 → D. One voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In A7sus4 | Moves | In D |
|---|---|---|
| A, the root | stays where it is | A, the fifth |
| D, the fourth | stays where it is | D, the root |
| E, the fifth | falls a whole tone | D, the root |
| G, the flat seventh | falls a semitone | F#, the major third |
In which keys. Every note of A7sus4 belongs to C major (the vi), D major (the V), D minor (the v), E minor (the iv), F major (the iii), G major (the ii), A minor (the i) and B minor (the ♭VII).
What to play over A7sus4
Every note of A7sus4 is in A minor pentatonic, A blues, A mixolydian, A dorian and A natural minor.
Chords near A7sus4
Change one note of A7sus4 and you have Asus4 (drop the flat seventh), Asus2sus4 (the flat seventh becomes the second), Am7 (the fourth becomes the minor third), A7 (the fourth becomes the major third), A11 (add the ninth) or A/G (the fourth becomes the major third).
A7sus4 is a suspended chord — root and fifth, with a second or fourth where the third would be — or nothing at all. Suspended and power chords on every root.
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.