Fsus4 F suspended fourth chord
- Notes
- F Bb C
- Formula
- 1 4 5
- Semitones
- 0 5 7 above the root
- Other symbols
- Fsus
F to Bb is a perfect fourth (5 semitones), Bb to C is a major second (2 semitones). The third is replaced by the fourth (Bb), which wants to fall to the third. With Bb in the bass the same three keys read as Bbsus2.
Fsus4 on the piano
Root position from F4: F4, Bb4, C5. Middle C is C4.
Fsus4 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 F as its lowest note.
1 3 3 3 1 1 (low E to high e)
Sounds F2 C3 F3 Bb3 C4 F4
x 8 10 10 11 8 (low E to high e)
Sounds F3 C4 F4 Bb4 C5
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 Fsus4
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 | F Bb C | Fsus4 | |
| 1st inversion | Bb C F | Bbsus2 (also read as Fsus4/Bb) | |
| 2nd inversion | C F Bb | C7sus4 (also read as Fsus4/C) |
Where Fsus4 fits
A sus chord has no third, so it is neither major nor minor and has no fixed place in a key. Fsus4 usually resolves to F or Fm: the fourth, Bb, falls a half or whole step to the third. Its most common job is Vsus4 in Bb major, delaying the V chord: Fsus4 → F → Bb.