Bbsus4 Bb suspended fourth chord
- Notes
- Bb Eb F
- Formula
- 1 4 5
- Semitones
- 0 5 7 above the root
- Also written
- A#sus4 (A# D# E#)
- Other symbols
- Bbsus
Bb to Eb is a perfect fourth (5 semitones), Eb to F is a major second (2 semitones). The third is replaced by the fourth (Eb), which wants to fall to the third. With Eb in the bass the same three keys read as Ebsus2.
Bbsus4 on the piano
Root position from Bb4: Bb4, Eb5, F5. Middle C is C4.
Bbsus4 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 Bb as its lowest note.
x 1 3 3 4 1 (low E to high e)
Sounds Bb2 F3 Bb3 Eb4 F4
6 8 8 8 6 6 (low E to high e)
Sounds Bb2 F3 Bb3 Eb4 F4 Bb4
The E-shape and A-shape grips 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.
Bbsus4 on the ukulele
Standard ukulele tuning is G C E A, drawn with the G string on the left and frets downwards, as ukulele chord charts show it. The G string is tuned higher than the C string (G4 above middle C, a fifth over C4), so the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not on the G string, and a shape can sound as an inversion even when its root is on the G string. All four strings are strummed, so every string plays a chord tone; the root is in blue-green.
3311 (G C E A)
Sounds Bb4 Eb4 F4 Bb4
Lowest note Eb4, so the chord finder reads it as Ebsus2.
3566 (G C E A)
Sounds Bb4 F4 Bb4 Eb5
Lowest note F4, so the chord finder reads it as F7sus4.
Inversions of Bbsus4
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 | Bb Eb F | Bbsus4 | |
| 1st inversion | Eb F Bb | Ebsus2 (also read as Bbsus4/Eb) | |
| 2nd inversion | F Bb Eb | F7sus4 (also read as Bbsus4/F) |
Where Bbsus4 fits
A sus chord has no third, so it is neither major nor minor and has no fixed place in a key. Bbsus4 usually resolves to Bb or Bbm: the fourth, Eb, falls a half or whole step to the third. Its most common job is Vsus4 in Eb major, delaying the V chord: Bbsus4 → Bb → Eb.