Dsus4 guitar chord
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. Because it costs no finger, it sounds a note the closed shape has none left for -- a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath. Either a familiar grip with open strings added, or a shape so sparse the open strings carry the chord. These belong to their key rather than to a shape, so D, A, G and E have many and Eb a handful.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About Dsus4 — open string voicings
Dsus4 is D, G and A — D with the third replaced by the fourth.
It sounds suspended mid-air. Played before the plain chord it is the oldest tension-and-release move there is.
Dsus4 notes and formula
| D | G | A |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 |
Suspended — classically it resolves down onto the third.
Also written Dsus or D suspended 4th. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Dsus4
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. It costs no finger, so it can sound a note the closed shape has none left for: a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath.
These belong to their key rather than to a shape: they cannot be moved up the neck. D, A, G and E have many; E♭ has a handful.
Dsus4 has 4 of them, on the top four strings, the middle four strings, the bottom four strings and strings 6-4-3-2, from the 3rd fret up to the 5th — every inversion the chord has: D in the bass and A in the bass. The one to learn first is the D shape at the 3rd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with xx0233 — no barre and 1 open string. 2 of the 8 shapes here sit in open position. 1 of the 8 needs a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| xx0233 | open position | D, root position | G | 1 open string |
| x50035 | open position | D, root position | A | 2 open strings |
| x5523x | 2nd fret | D, root position | D | all fretted |
| x57785 | 5th fret | D, root position | A | all fretted |
| 10-x-7-7-8-10 | 7th fret | D, root position | D | all fretted |
| x-x-7-7-8-10 | 7th fret | A, 2nd inversion | D | all fretted |
| 10-12-12-12-10-10 | 10th fret | D, root position | D | barred |
| x-x-12-14-15-15 | 12th fret | D, root position | G | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 48 triad voicings, each on its own page.
How to use Dsus4
Voice by voice, Dsus4 → D. One voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Dsus4 | Moves | In D |
|---|---|---|
| D, the root | stays where it is | D, the root |
| G, the fourth | falls a semitone | F#, the major third |
| A, the fifth | stays where it is | A, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Dsus4 belongs to C major (the ii), D major (the I), D minor (the i), E minor (the ♭VII), F major (the vi), G major (the V), G minor (the v), A minor (the iv), Bb major (the iii) and B minor (the ♭III).
What to play over Dsus4
Every note of Dsus4 is in D minor pentatonic, D blues, D major, D mixolydian and D dorian.
Chords near Dsus4
Change one note of Dsus4 and you have D (the fourth becomes a major third), Dm (the fourth becomes a minor third), Dsus2 (the fourth becomes a ninth), Dsus2sus4 (add the ninth), D5 (drop the fourth) or D7sus4 (add the flat seventh).
Dsus4 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 Dsus4’s sound and use this page follows Edward Aldwell & Carl Schachter, Harmony and Voice Leading (Schirmer / Cengage, 4th ed., 2011). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.