Guitar Lesson - Play Sus 4 Chords

Sus 4 chords, shorthand for suspended fourth chords,are a very useful thing to learn on guitar, as they are widely used in songs from rock to pop. The chord formula for a major chord is 1, 3, 5.

If we move the 3rd up one semitone or one fret, we get a 4th. This is an interval, it just means it's four notes up the major scale. So in the key of C, CDEF - F is the 4th.

As the sus4 is an unstable chord, we want it to resolve to another chord, as in A7sus 4, A7, D.

You will usually find the sus 4 chord in this context, i.e. on the V chord (also known as the dominant 7th chord) leading back to the I chord, or tonic.

James Taylor and The Beatles both use this chord frequently, and another good example is Pinball Wizard by The Who, B sus4 to B as shown on the chord chart.

Although very common in 1960s and 1970s music it's possibly used less these days. A classic example is Here Comes The Sun by George Harrison, and Venus by Shocking Pink uses it in the intro.

The barre chord version is demonstrated by the G7 sus4 chord, which resolves to the G7 or G. This is the famous chord at the start of A Hard Day's Night by the Beatles, although it is more complex than that due to multitracked parts that add other notes. Combined with a F add 9 chord, played on a second guitar, you are getting close.

Move this up 2 frets for an A7sus4, up another 2 for B, up one more for C, etc following the sequence of notes on string 6.

The last two chord grids show G sus4 moving to G, a common move in Simon and Garfunkel songs and most folk music. To play this, refinger the G chord so you have your first finger free to do the sus4 note - which is a C in this case, counting G A B C to find the 4th interval.

Now for two top tips:

• This type of chord shape is much easier if you use a capo in fret 2 or 3
• Many Dylan songs sound good with this chord and the use of a capo.