Gsus2sus4 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 Gsus2sus4 — open string voicings
Gsus2sus4 is G, A, C and D — Gsus4 with the second added underneath the fourth.
It sounds ringing and deliberately ambiguous. Read another way it is a stack of fourths, which is why it works as a pad rather than as a chord that resolves.
Gsus2sus4 notes and formula
| G | A | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
Texture more than function — still no third.
Also written Gsus2/4 or G suspended 2nd and 4th. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Gsus2sus4
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.
Gsus2sus4 has 3 of them, on the bottom four strings and the middle four strings, all of them at the 3rd fret — every inversion the chord has: G in the bass and A in the bass. The one to learn first is the A shape at the 3rd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with 300213 — no barre and 2 open strings. 3 of the 7 shapes here sit in open position. 3 of the 7 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300213 | open position | G, root position | G | 2 open strings |
| 33021x | open position | G, root position | C | 1 open string |
| 33023x | open position | G, root position | D | barred |
| 335535 | 3rd fret | G, root position | A | barred |
| x-10-7-7-8-8 | 7th fret | G, root position | C | all fretted |
| x-10-10-12-10-10 | 10th fret | G, root position | D | barred |
| 15-15-12-14-x-x | 12th fret | G, root position | A | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 15 drop 2 and 10 drop 3 voicings, each on its own page.
How to use Gsus2sus4
In which keys. Every note of Gsus2sus4 belongs to C major (the V), D minor (the iv), E minor (the ♭III), F major (the ii), G major (the I), G minor (the i), A minor (the ♭VII) and Bb major (the vi).
What to play over Gsus2sus4
Every note of Gsus2sus4 is in G major, G mixolydian, G dorian, G natural minor and G harmonic minor.
Chords near Gsus2sus4
Change one note of Gsus2sus4 and you have Gsus2 (drop the fourth), Gsus4 (drop the ninth), Gadd9 (the fourth becomes a major third), Gmadd9 (the fourth becomes a minor third), G7sus4 (the ninth becomes a flat seventh) or G11 (add the flat seventh).
Gsus2sus4 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 Gsus2sus4’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.