Csus4 C suspended fourth chord
- Notes
- C F G
- Formula
- 1 4 5
- Semitones
- 0 5 7 above the root
- Other symbols
- Csus
C to F is a perfect fourth (5 semitones), F to G is a major second (2 semitones). The third is replaced by the fourth (F), which wants to fall to the third. With F in the bass the same three keys read as Fsus2.
Csus4 on the piano
Root position from C4: C4, F4, G4. Middle C is C4.
Csus4 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 C as its lowest note.
x 3 5 5 6 3 (low E to high e)
Sounds C3 G3 C4 F4 G4
8 10 10 10 8 8 (low E to high e)
Sounds C3 G3 C4 F4 G4 C5
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.
Csus4 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.
0013 (G C E A)
Sounds G4 C4 F4 C5
0533 (G C E A)
Sounds G4 F4 G4 C5
Lowest note F4, so the chord finder reads it as Fsus2.
Inversions of Csus4
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 | C F G | Csus4 | |
| 1st inversion | F G C | Fsus2 (also read as Csus4/F) | |
| 2nd inversion | G C F | G7sus4 (also read as Csus4/G) |
Where Csus4 fits
A sus chord has no third, so it is neither major nor minor and has no fixed place in a key. Csus4 usually resolves to C or Cm: the fourth, F, falls a half or whole step to the third. Its most common job is Vsus4 in F major, delaying the V chord: Csus4 → C → F.