How to Play Gsus4 Chord on Guitar
In today's lesson, we'll go over 3 distinct ways to play the G suspended fourth chord. For short it is written as Gsus4 and pronounced G sus four.
I've included the notes in the chord diagram to help you learn the fretboard, and hopefully, if you run into any chord charts that use a suspended chord, you'll know how to decipher it.
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, how to use it, etc.
Gsus4 Chord Open Position
The fingering for Gsus4 in open position is relatively easy. Place your:
- Middle finger on the sixth string, third fret
- Ring finger on the fifth string, second fret
- Strum from the sixth string down
Gsus4 played using Barre chords
Gsus4 Barre Chord Shape 1
Place your:
- First finger on 6th string, third fret
- Third finger on 5th string, fifth fret
- Then bar your ring finger across strings 3, 4, and 5
As you can see from the chord diagram, don't strum all the strings when playing this shape. You'll need to get the guitar pick out of the way just in time.
Gsus4 Barre Chord Shape 2
This next voicing for the Gsus4 guitar chord is played as follows. Place your:
- Index finger on fifth string, 10th fret
- Ring finger on fourth string, 12th fret
- As you barre with your ring finger, place your pinky finger on the second string, 13th fret
BONUS! Gsus4 Barre Chord Shape 3
This bonus chord shape is just like the guitar chord you already learned, but we are going to make this an inversion.
An inversion is where the chord is not in the root position. Root notes refer to the root of the chord (in this case, the G note), and root position means the G note is the lowest-sounding note.
When an inversion is written, it is often referred to as a slash chord, such as Gsus4/D, which means to play the Gsus4 but have the D note as the bass note.
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Gsus4 Guitar Chord Theory
Now, let’s break down the theory of the G suspended chord so you can better understand how it's constructed and how to use it.
The Gsus4 guitar chord is built from the G 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
G A B C D E F#
The Gsus4 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 G major chord, you'd know that a G major chord uses notes G B D which are the 1 3 5 notes of the scale. For a G suspended fourth chord the fourth degree essentially replaces the third as we use the 1 4 5 notes of the scale which would be notes G C D.
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.
How To Use G 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.
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 Gm to Gsus4 or G major to Gsus4 to keep the listener entertained a little longer before you move to another chord.
What Keys Use Gsus4 Guitar Chord?
Popular Songs That Use Gsus4
The Scorpions - Big City Nights
Gsus4 works in the key of:
Now you know a few ways to play the Gsus4 chord and understand some Gsus4 chord theory!
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