Gsus4 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 Gsus4 — open string voicings
Gsus4 is G, C and D — G 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.
Gsus4 notes and formula
| G | C | D |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 |
Suspended — classically it resolves down onto the third.
Also written Gsus or G suspended 4th. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Gsus4
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.
Gsus4 has 1 of them, only on the bottom four strings, all of them at the 3rd fret — all in one inversion, so the bass note never moves. The one to learn first is the G shape at the 3rd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with xx5788 — no barre and low, at the 5th fret. 1 of the 7 shapes here sits in open position. 2 of the 7 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 330013 | open position | G, root position | G | barred |
| 355533 | 3rd fret | G, root position | G | barred |
| xx5788 | 5th fret | G, root position | C | all fretted |
| x-10-10-7-8-x | 7th fret | G, root position | G | all fretted |
| x-10-12-12-13-10 | 10th fret | G, root position | D | all fretted |
| 15-x-12-12-13-15 | 12th fret | G, root position | G | all fretted |
| x-x-12-12-13-15 | 12th fret | D, 2nd inversion | G | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 49 triad voicings, each on its own page.
How to use Gsus4
Voice by voice, Gsus4 → G. One voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Gsus4 | Moves | In G |
|---|---|---|
| G, the root | stays where it is | G, the root |
| C, the fourth | falls a semitone | B, the major third |
| D, the fifth | stays where it is | D, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Gsus4 belongs to C major (the V), C minor (the v), D minor (the iv), Eb major (the iii), 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 Gsus4
Every note of Gsus4 is in G minor pentatonic, G blues, G major, G mixolydian and G dorian.
Chords near Gsus4
Change one note of Gsus4 and you have G (the fourth becomes a major third), Gm (the fourth becomes a minor third), Gsus2 (the fourth becomes a ninth), Gsus2sus4 (add the ninth), G5 (drop the fourth) or G7sus4 (add the flat seventh).
Gsus4 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 Gsus4’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.