Suspended 4th (sus4) Chords

A Sus4 (or suspended 4th) chord replaces the third degree of the scale temporarily with the 4th degree, and then resolves back to the original chord. It is rare that the 3rd degree and 4th degree are present at the same time in a Sus4 chord.

The formula for a suspended 4th (sus4) chord is: Root, 4th, and 5th.

Switching Between Chords: Suspended 4th (Sus4) Chords

With each new chord that we learn, start practicing switching between the chords by strumming whole notes at 60bpm. The goal with these exercises is to play in time but allow for a substantial amount of time to learn to switch the chord and stay in time with the metronome.

When comfortable switching chords using whole notes which are strummed every four beats, try to move on to the next exercise using half notes, which are strummed every two beats. When comfortable with half notes, move on to quarter notes, which are strummed on every beat.