How to Play Asus4 Chord on Guitar
In today's lesson, we'll go over 3 distinct ways to play the A suspended fourth chord. For short it is written as Asus4 and pronounced A sus four.
These guitar chords sound really cool and every guitarist needs to have them in their vocabulary. They are also relatively easy to play!
In this article, we'll discover common positions, voicings, and recommend finger placements, each with its chord diagram. Later, we'll also discuss chord theory, how it gets its name, and how to use it, etc
Asus4 Guitar Chord Open Position
The fingering for Asus4 in the open position is relatively easy. Place your:
- Middle finger on fourth string, second fret
- Ring finger on third string, second fret
- Pinky finger on second string, third fret
You can also think of it as fretting an A major as normal then moving your pinky up to the D note on the second string, third fret.
Asus4 Using Barre chords
Asus4 Barre Chord Shape 1
The first barre chord we’ll look at is played as follows. Place your:
- First finger on 6th string, fifth fret
- Third finger on 5th string, 7th fret
- Bar your ring finger across strings 3, 4, and 5
Asus4 Barre Chord Shape 2
This next voicing for the Asus4 chord is played as follows. Place your:
- Ring finger on 4th string, 7th fret
- Pinky finger on 3rd string, 7th fret
- Barre string 1 and string 2 with your index finger on the 5th fret
I have indicated in the chord diagram that you should avoid strumming the low E string and the open A string. Because the A note and the E note are part of the chord, you could also play these strings, but personally, I would only add in the A string as adding in both the open E and open A will muddy up the chord.
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Asus4 Guitar Chord Theory
Now, let’s break down the theory of the Asus4 chord so you can better understand how it’s constructed and how to use it.
The Asus4 guitar chord is built from the A major scale: A B C# D E F# G#
To understand the chord formula, you need to understand "scale degrees," which is simply numbering the notes of a scale starting with the root note.
Often, music teachers reference the piano due to the simplicity of the layout for scales, but I think the illustration below will do:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A B C# D E F# G#
The Asus4 is Neither A Major Nor A Minor Chord
If you've read my breakdown of the A major chord, you'd know that an A major chord uses notes A, C# E, which are the 1 3 5 notes of the scale. For a suspended fourth chord, the fourth degree essentially replaces the third as we use the 1 4 5 notes of the scale.
In music theory, the 3rd scale degree determines if a chord is major or minor, and because the 3rd scale degree is not part of this chord's formula, it's simply not a major nor minor chord.
Side note: I don't want to get too deep into the theory, but sometimes you'll hear the 4 referred to as a "perfect fourth" in reference to the intervals. This is another layer deep and really isn't important for this discussion.
As you can see from each chord diagram, notes in this chord are A D E. The order of the notes doesn't matter so long as you have at least one of each of these notes.
How To Use A Suspended Second Chord
As already mentioned, a suspended second chord is neither major nor minor - it's almost like it's "SUSPENDED" and doesn't know where to go.
It's used to get a bit more mileage out of the chord before there is movement. This means that you can bounce around on it, moving from Am to Asus4 or A major to Asus4 to keep the listener entertained a little longer before you move to another chord.
Popular Songs That Use Asus4
Ozzy / Lita Ford - Close My Eyes Forever
Def Leppard - Two Steps Behind
What Keys Use Asus4 Guitar Chord?
Asus4 works in the key of:
Now you know a few ways to play the Asus4 chord and understand some Asus4 chord theory!
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