Bsus2 B suspended second chord
- Notes
- B C# F#
- Formula
- 1 2 5
- Semitones
- 0 2 7 above the root
B to C# is a major second (2 semitones), C# to F# is a perfect fourth (5 semitones). The third is replaced by the second (C#), so the chord is neither major nor minor. The same three keys with F# in the bass read as F#sus4.
Bsus2 on the piano
Root position from B4: B4, C#5, F#5. Middle C is C4.
Bsus2 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 B as its lowest note.
x 2 4 4 2 2 (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 F#3 B3 C#4 F#4
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 second chords on other roots.
Bsus2 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.
4122 (G C E A)
Sounds B4 C#4 F#4 B4
Lowest note C#4, so the chord finder reads it as C#7sus4.
4674 (G C E A)
Sounds B4 F#4 B4 C#5
Lowest note F#4, so the chord finder reads it as F#sus4.
Inversions of Bsus2
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 | B C# F# | Bsus2 | |
| 1st inversion | C# F# B | C#7sus4 (also read as Bsus2/C#) | |
| 2nd inversion | F# B C# | F#sus4 (also read as Bsus2/F#) |
Where Bsus2 fits
A sus chord has no third, so it is neither major nor minor and has no fixed place in a key. In Bsus2 the second, C#, usually rises to the major or minor third or falls back to the root B; it is also often left unresolved as a colour, especially on guitar.