Gsus2 guitar chord
Three notes across one string set.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About Gsus2 — triad voicings
Gsus2 is G, A and D — 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.
Gsus2 notes and formula
| G | A | D |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 |
Suspended — it hangs until something moves.
Also written G2 or G suspended 2nd. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Gsus2
Three notes on one string set. No seventh, so nothing is claimed about the chord beyond its quality.
Thin on their own, excellent over a bass line or against someone else’s harmony.
Gsus2 has 48 of them, on the top three strings, the bottom four strings, the top four strings, the bottom three strings, the middle four strings, the low-middle three, the high-middle three, strings 6-4-3-2 and strings 5-3-2-1, from the 2nd fret up to the 14th — every inversion the chord has: G in the bass, A in the bass and D in the bass. The one to learn first is the A shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
6 of them sit on the bottom four strings, so you can run the inversions up one set without changing strings — which is the whole reason to learn them as a family rather than as separate grips.
Start with xx5785 — no barre and low, at the 5th fret. 1 of the 10 shapes here sits in open position. 6 of the 10 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 2nd fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300033 | open position | G, root position | G | barred |
| 3xx233 | 2nd fret | G, root position | G | barred |
| 355x35 | 3rd fret | G, root position | A | barred |
| xx5785 | 5th fret | G, root position | A | all fretted |
| x-10-7-7-8-10 | 7th fret | G, root position | D | all fretted |
| x-x-7-7-8-10 | 7th fret | A, 2nd in the bass | D | all fretted |
| x-10-12-12-10-10 | 10th fret | G, root position | D | barred |
| 15-12-12-14-15-x | 12th fret | G, root position | D | all fretted |
| x-12-12-12-15-15 | 12th fret | A, 2nd in the bass | G | barred |
| 15-x-x-14-15-15 | 14th fret | G, root position | G | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 4 open string voicings, each on its own page.
How to use Gsus2
Voice by voice, Gsus2 → G. No voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Gsus2 | Moves | In G |
|---|---|---|
| G, the root | stays where it is | G, the root |
| A, the second | falls a whole tone | G, the root |
| D, the fifth | stays where it is | D, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Gsus2 belongs to C major (the V), D major (the IV), D minor (the iv), E minor (the ♭III), F major (the ii), G major (the I), G minor (the i), A minor (the ♭VII), Bb major (the vi) and B minor (the ♭VI).
What to play over Gsus2
Every note of Gsus2 is in G major pentatonic, G major, G lydian, G mixolydian and G dorian.
Chords near Gsus2
Change one note of Gsus2 and you have G (the ninth becomes a major third), Gm (the ninth becomes a minor third), Gsus4 (the ninth becomes a fourth), Gsus2sus4 (add the fourth), Gadd9 (add the major third) or Gmadd9 (add the minor third).
Gsus2 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 Gsus2’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.