C#sus2 guitar chord
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- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About C#sus2 — uncommon voicings
C#sus2 is C#, D# and G# — 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.
Suspended — it hangs until something moves.
Also written C#2 or C# suspended 2nd.
What these less common shapes are
How to use C#sus2
Voice by voice, C#sus2 → . No voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords. No voice has to move by a semitone, so this is a change of colour rather than a resolution.
| In C#sus2 | 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 C#sus2 belongs to C# major (the I), C# minor (the i), Eb minor (the ♭VII), E major (the vi), F minor (the ♭VI), F# major (the V), Ab major (the IV), Ab minor (the iv), Bb minor (the ♭III) and B major (the ii).
What to play over C#sus2
Every note of C#sus2 is in C# major pentatonic, C# major, C# natural minor, C# dorian and C# mixolydian.
Each of those is a page: the scale across the neck, and the chords it harmonises into — which is where C#sus2 sits in it. Every scale.
Chords near C#sus2
Change one note of C#sus2 and you have (the second becomes the major third), (the second becomes the minor third), (the second becomes the fourth), (add the fourth), (add the major third) or (add the minor third).
C#sus2 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.