Bsus2 guitar chord
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About Bsus2 — 2nd in bass
Bsus2 is B, C# and F# — B with the third replaced by the second.
It sounds open, and neither major nor minor. With no third it works over either quality, which is why strummed parts lean on it.
Bsus2 notes and formula
| B | C# | F# |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 |
Suspended — it hangs until something moves.
Also written B2 or B suspended 2nd. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Bsus2
Bsus2 in 2nd in bass puts C# in the bass instead of B, the 2nd 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 Bsus2’s 8 common shapes do this: x44477, x-x-11-11-12-14.
Start with 74467x — no barre and low, at the 4th fret. None of the shapes for Bsus2 uses an open string, so every one of them is movable; the lowest sits at the 2nd fret. 4 of the 8 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 14th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x24422 | 2nd fret | B, root position | F# | barred |
| 74467x | 4th fret | B, root position | F# | all fretted |
| x44477 | 4th fret | C#, 2nd in the bass | B | barred |
| 7xx677 | 6th fret | B, root position | B | barred |
| 799x79 | 7th fret | B, root position | C# | barred |
| x-x-9-11-12-9 | 9th fret | B, root position | C# | all fretted |
| x-14-11-11-12-14 | 11th fret | B, root position | F# | all fretted |
| x-x-11-11-12-14 | 11th fret | C#, 2nd in the bass | F# | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 46 triad voicings, each on its own page.
How to use Bsus2
Voice by voice, Bsus2 → B. No voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Bsus2 | Moves | In B |
|---|---|---|
| B, the root | stays where it is | B, the root |
| C#, the second | falls a whole tone | B, the root |
| F#, the fifth | stays where it is | F#, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Bsus2 belongs to C# minor (the ♭VII), D major (the vi), Eb minor (the ♭VI), E major (the V), F# major (the IV), F# minor (the iv), Ab minor (the ♭III), A major (the ii), B major (the I) and B minor (the i).
What to play over Bsus2
Every note of Bsus2 is in B major pentatonic, B major, B lydian, B mixolydian and B dorian.
Chords near Bsus2
Change one note of Bsus2 and you have B (the ninth becomes a major third), Bm (the ninth becomes a minor third), Bsus4 (the ninth becomes a fourth), Bsus2sus4 (add the fourth), Badd9 (add the major third) or Bmadd9 (add the minor third).
Bsus2 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.
On Bsus2’s sound and use this page follows Robert Rawlins & Nor Eddine Bahha, Jazzology (Hal Leonard, 2005). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.