Asus4 A suspended fourth chord
- Notes
- A D E
- Formula
- 1 4 5
- Semitones
- 0 5 7 above the root
- Other symbols
- Asus
A to D is a perfect fourth (5 semitones), D to E is a major second (2 semitones). The third is replaced by the fourth (D), which wants to fall to the third. With D in the bass the same three keys read as Dsus2.
Asus4 on the piano
Root position from A4: A4, D5, E5. Middle C is C4.
Asus4 on the guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has A as its lowest note.
x 0 2 2 3 0 (low E to high e)
Sounds A2 E3 A3 D4 E4
5 7 7 7 5 5 (low E to high e)
Sounds A2 E3 A3 D4 E4 A4
The barre shapes are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play suspended fourth chords on other roots.
Inversions of Asus4
An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | A D E | Asus4 | |
| 1st inversion | D E A | Dsus2 (also read as Asus4/D) | |
| 2nd inversion | E A D | E7sus4 (also read as Asus4/E) |
Where Asus4 fits
A sus chord has no third, so it is neither major nor minor and has no fixed place in a key. Asus4 usually resolves to A or Am: the fourth, D, falls a half or whole step to the third. Its most common job is Vsus4 in D major, delaying the V chord: Asus4 → A → D.