Csus2 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 Csus2 — root position
Csus2 is C, D and G — C 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.
Csus2 notes and formula
| C | D | G |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 |
Suspended — it hangs until something moves.
Also written C2 or C suspended 2nd. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Csus2
Csus2 in root position puts C in the bass, which is the chord as it is spelled: the note it is named after underneath everything else.
8 of Csus2’s 10 common shapes do this: x30013, x30033, x35533, 85578x, 8x0788, 8-10-10-x-8-10, x-x-10-12-13-10, x-15-12-12-13-15.
Start with x30013 — no barre and 2 open strings. 2 of the 10 shapes here sit in open position. 5 of the 10 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x30013 | open position | C, root position | G | 2 open strings |
| x30033 | open position | C, root position | G | barred |
| x35533 | 3rd fret | C, root position | G | barred |
| 85578x | 5th fret | C, root position | G | all fretted |
| x55588 | 5th fret | D, 2nd in the bass | C | barred |
| 8x0788 | 7th fret | C, root position | C | barred |
| 8-10-10-x-8-10 | 8th fret | C, root position | D | barred |
| x-x-10-12-13-10 | 10th fret | C, root position | D | all fretted |
| x-15-12-12-13-15 | 12th fret | C, root position | G | all fretted |
| x-x-12-12-13-15 | 12th fret | D, 2nd in the bass | G | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 49 triad and 1 open string voicings, each on its own page.
How to use Csus2
Voice by voice, Csus2 → C. No voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Csus2 | Moves | In C |
|---|---|---|
| C, the root | stays where it is | C, the root |
| D, the second | falls a whole tone | C, the root |
| G, the fifth | stays where it is | G, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Csus2 belongs to C major (the I), C minor (the i), D minor (the ♭VII), Eb major (the vi), E minor (the ♭VI), F major (the V), G major (the IV), G minor (the iv), A minor (the ♭III) and Bb major (the ii).
What to play over Csus2
Every note of Csus2 is in C major pentatonic, C major, C lydian, C mixolydian and C dorian.
Chords near Csus2
Change one note of Csus2 and you have C (the ninth becomes a major third), Cm (the ninth becomes a minor third), Csus4 (the ninth becomes a fourth), Csus2sus4 (add the fourth), Cadd9 (add the major third) or Cmadd9 (add the minor third).
Csus2 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 Csus2’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.