Esus4 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 Esus4 — open string voicings
Esus4 is E, A and B — E 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.
Esus4 notes and formula
| E | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 |
Suspended — classically it resolves down onto the third.
Also written Esus or E suspended 4th. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Esus4
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.
Esus4 has 5 of them, on the top four strings, strings 6-5-4-3-2, the bottom four strings, strings 6-5-4-3-2-1 and the middle four strings, from the 2nd fret up to the 4th — every inversion the chord has: E in the bass and A in the bass. The one to learn first is the E shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with xx2455 — no barre and down at the nut. 2 of the 9 shapes here sit in open position. 2 of the 9 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 14th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 022200 | open position | E, root position | E | barred |
| 022455 | open position | E, root position | A | 1 open string |
| xx2455 | 2nd fret | E, root position | A | all fretted |
| x7745x | 4th fret | E, root position | E | all fretted |
| x-7-9-9-10-7 | 7th fret | E, root position | B | all fretted |
| x-x-9-9-10-0 | 9th fret | B, 2nd inversion | A | 1 open string |
| 12-x-9-9-10-12 | 9th fret | E, root position | E | all fretted |
| x-x-9-9-10-12 | 9th fret | B, 2nd inversion | E | all fretted |
| 12-14-14-14-12-12 | 12th fret | E, root position | E | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 49 triad voicings, each on its own page.
How to use Esus4
Voice by voice, Esus4 → E. One voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Esus4 | Moves | In E |
|---|---|---|
| E, the root | stays where it is | E, the root |
| A, the fourth | falls a semitone | G#, the major third |
| B, the fifth | stays where it is | B, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Esus4 belongs to C major (the iii), C# minor (the ♭III), D major (the ii), E major (the I), E minor (the i), F# minor (the ♭VII), G major (the vi), A major (the V), A minor (the v) and B minor (the iv).
What to play over Esus4
Every note of Esus4 is in E minor pentatonic, E blues, E major, E mixolydian and E dorian.
Chords near Esus4
Change one note of Esus4 and you have E (the fourth becomes a major third), Em (the fourth becomes a minor third), Esus2 (the fourth becomes a ninth), Esus2sus4 (add the ninth), E5 (drop the fourth) or E7sus4 (add the flat seventh).
Esus4 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 Esus4’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.