How to Play Fsus4 Chord on Guitar
In today's lesson, we'll go over 3 distinct ways to play the F suspended fourth chord. For short written as Fsus4 and pronounced F sus four.
These guitar chords are a great way to add some tension to your progressions and if you're serious about guitar you definitely want to add these to your chord vocabulary.
We'll discover common positions and recommend finger placements, each with its chord diagram. We'll also discuss chord theory, how it gets its name, and how to use it.
Fsus4 played using Barre chords
Due to the notes that make a Fsus4, there isn't an open position. However, this first voicing is pretty easy.
To play, place your:
- Index finger on the second string, first fret
- Ring finger on the fourth string, third fret
- Pinky finger on the third string, third fret
You can also see that by playing the first string you are adding another F note. Doing the barre chord in this example is actually optional!
Fsus4 Barre Chord Shape 2
This next voicing is played as follows. Place your:
- First finger on 5th string, 8th fret
- Third finger on 4th string, 10th fret
- While it is barring, place your fourth finger on second string, 11th fret
Fsus4 Barre Chord Shape 3
This last voicing is the hardest out of the three due to it being on the first fret. To play, place your:
- Index finger on sixth string, first fret
- Ring finger on fifth string, third fret
- Barre across strings 3 - 5
This shape will take a lot of practice, so give it time. One of the reasons why so many players give up and walk away from playing guitar is they skip steps trying to play music/chords/solos, etc., which are way beyond their skill level!
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Fsus4 Guitar Chord Theory
Now, let’s break down the theory of the Fsus4 chord so you can better understand how it is constructed and how to use it.
The Fsus4 guitar chord is built from the F major scale: F G A Bb C D E
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
F G A Bb C D E
The Fsus4 is Neither A Major Nor A Minor Chord
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.
If you've read my breakdown of the F major chord, you'd know that an F major chord uses notes F A C which are chord tones 1 3 5 notes of the scale. For a F suspended chord, the fourth degree essentially is used to replace the third as we use the 1 4 5 chord tones which is F Bb C.
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 right now.
How To Use F Suspended Fourth Chord
Because a sus chord is neither major nor minor - it's almost like it's "SUSPENDED" and doesn't know where to go. This will create "suspense," no pun intended :) keeping your listeners engaged a bit longer.
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 Fm to Fsus4 or F major to Fsus4 to keep the listener entertained a little longer before you move to another chord.
Popular Songs That Use Fsus4
- Tom Petty - Free Fallin
What Keys Use Fsus4 Guitar Chord?
Fsus4 works in the following keys:
Now you know a few ways to play the Fsus4 chord and understand some Fsus4 chord theory!
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