Suspended 4th chord · C root
Csus4 chord
- C1
- F4
- G5
The C suspended 4th chord is built from the notes C, F, G. It turns up 10 times in the 104 songs on this site, including Ho Hey.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the Csus4 chord?
The Csus4 chord (C suspended 4th) is a suspended 4th chord built from three notes: C, F, G — the 1–4–5 of the C scale, 5 semitones and 7 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played in open position (x-3-3-0-1-1) with 4 fretted strings while 1 string rings open and the low E string stays silent. It is rated intermediate. An airy, unresolved sound that hangs before resolving to the major chord. Across the 104 song sheets in this site's library, Csus4 appears 10 times in 1 song, most often in the key of C, and the chord it most often moves to is C. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 3 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the Csus4 chord on guitar?
Open position. The barre covers only part of the strings; keep the marked open strings ringing.
- Lay your index finger flat across the B to high E strings at fret 1, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the A string at fret 3 with your ring finger.
- Press the D string at fret 3 with your pinky finger.
- Start your strum on the A string and do not play the low E string at all.
Leave out the lowest fretted note (A string) and practise the remaining strings. The bass changes, and the upper strings may still need a smaller barre; check that the third and other colour tones stay clear. x-x-3-0-1-1
How do you make Csus4 sound clean?
Keep C on the A string at fret 3. For the Csus4 shown here, change the D string from fret 2 to fret 3 and the high E from open to fret 1; both E notes must become F.
Loop C and Csus4 slowly. Check both F notes separately before strumming; leaving either E ringing makes this an added-fourth chord rather than a sus4.
In real songs
What songs use the Csus4 chord?
- chord changes
- 10
- songs
- 1
- common keys
- C
Across the 104 chord sheets on this site, Csus4 appears 10 times in 1 song — most often in the key of C.
Chord flow
What chord comes after Csus4?
The counts come from our own song library — 1879 chord changes in total — which makes them a snapshot of real songs instead of a rule of thumb.
What other ways can you play Csus4 up the neck?
2 more positions below. Learn one of these well and the rest become optional. The value of a second position is practical: it keeps your fretting hand near where the song is already heading.
Position 2 · Fret 3 barre
Because nothing rings open, you can move this whole shape to any fret and it keeps the same quality — only the letter name changes.
A single bar covers the rest of the strings here. If the inside strings stay dead, move the bar a millimetre closer to the fret wire before you try pressing harder.
Position 3 · Fret 8 barre
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
It uses 2 separate barres. Fret each one across its marked strings, then add the other fingers without damping the ringing notes.
The theory behind Csus4
Csus4 is spelled C – F – G — the 1 – 4 – 5 of the C scale, which is the root plus 5 semitones, 7 semitones. An airy, unresolved sound that hangs before resolving to the major chord.
The fourth replaces the third, so Csus4 has no major or minor quality at all — it is a chord mid-sentence. Move that note down a semitone and it resolves; leave it hanging and the music sounds unresolved on purpose.
Csus4 on other instruments
C – F – G — all white keys, so you can find the shape by counting up from C.
Take it to the practice room
