What You Should Know
What You Will Learn
- How to play sus2, sus4, and add9 chords
- Exercises for switching between these new chords and chords you have learned previously
Easy Sus2, Sus4, and Add9 Chords for Guitar
Suspended and add9 chords are slight variations on chord shapes you have already learned. In most cases, you only need to change a single note from a major or minor chord you alreadly know to play the new chords.
Suspended Chords
A suspended chord has no third. A second or fourth is used instead of a third. There are two kinds of suspended chords: suspended second and suspended fourth chords.
Suspended Second Chords
A suspended second chord is represented by the chord symbol sus2. Dsus2 is an example of a suspended second chord. This can be pronounced either as "D suspended second" or "D sus two."
Dsus2 Chord Chord
Chord Diagram
Tablature
Asus2 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
The fingering for this chord may seem somewhat awkward. However, this fingering facilitates easily moving between A major and Asus4, which are commonly used together.
If an Asus2 chord is used without A major or Asus4, an easy alternate fingering is to place the middle finger on the fourth string and the ring finger on the third string. Think of it like the E minor chord fingering moved down one string.
Tablature
Suspended Fourth Chords
Suspended fourth chords use the chord symbol sus4. Asus4 is an example of a sus4 chord. This is pronounced as "A suspended fourth" or "A sus four."
Dsus4 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
Dsus4 is like a D major chord, but with the pinky at the third fret of the first string. It's a good idea to keep your middle finger on the second fret of the first string since Dsus4 often goes to a D major chord. If you finger the chord this way, you only need to lift your pinky to get D major.
Tablature
Asus4 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
The fingering for Asus4 is similar to A major. You can finger Asus4 by fretting the notes for A major and then placing your pinky on the third fret of the second string. Asus4 almost always occurs before A major, so be sure to keep your ring finger on the second fret of the second string to make it easy to switch between the two chords.
Tablature
Esus4 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
Esus4 is similar to an E major chord. You can fret Esus4 by starting with E major and then placing your pinky on the second fret of the third string. Keep your index finger on the first fret of the third string to make it easy to switch to E major. You only need to lift your pinky to make this switch.
Tablature
Add9 Chords
An add9 chord is a major or minor chord with an added ninth. These chords sound more interesting than a plain major or minor chord due to the addition of the ninth.
Major Add9 Chords
Major chords with an added ninth are represented by the symbol add9. An example of this kind of chord is Cadd9. This can be pronounced as either "C major add nine" or just "C add nine."
Cadd9 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
The shape of the Cadd9 chord is similar to G major. The index and middle fingers are moved down one string and the ring and pinky fingers are in the same place. This makes it easy to switch between G major and Cadd9 because you only need to move the index and middle fingers. These chords are commonly used together so keep this in mind when switching between them.
Tablature
Aadd9 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
This chord may be somewhat difficult due to the stretch involved. If you find this chord too hard to play, come back to it later. Aadd9 is included mainly to prepare for the add9 barre chord based on this chord voicing. Note that the stretch will be much easier if your thumb is behind the neck rather than hanging over it.
Tablature
Eadd9 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
The stretch between the middle finger and pinky may be a bit awkward, so relax and keep your thumb behind the neck.
Tablature
Minor Add9 Chords
The chord symbol for a minor add9 chord is madd9. An example of this kind of chord is Amadd9, which is pronounced "A minor add nine."
Amadd9 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
Amadd9 has the same shape as Eadd9, but moved down a string. Stay relaxed when playing this chord to make the stretch easier.
Tablature
Emadd9 Chord
Chord Diagram
Comments
The stretch between the index finger and pinky should be fairly easy unless you have small hands. Keep your thumb behind the neck and make sure your pinky doesn't mute the G string.
Tablature
Exercises
Exercise 1
Exercise 1 is an exercise for switching between D major, Dsus2, and Dsus4. This exercise can be played by moving only one finger to change to each new chord by following the steps below:
- 1. Start by fingering the D major chord.
- 2. Add the pinky to the fourth fret of the high E string to get Dsus4.
- 3. Lift your pinky to go back to D major.
- 4. Move to Dsus2 by lifing your middle finger off the high E string.
- 5. Play D major again by placing your middle finger back on the first string.
Use all downstrokes for Exercise 1 and the rest of the exercises in this lesson.
Exercise 2
Exercise 2 switches between A major, Asus2, and Asus4. These chords are commonly used together to create riffs. An example of this is Can't Stop Loving You by Van Halen. Like Exercise 1, you only need to move one finger for each chord change.
Exercise 3
Exercise 3 is a progression in G major that uses the following chords: G major, Cadd9, and D major. You only need to move your index and middle fingers to switch between G major and Cadd9. D major and Cadd9 both include the note at the third fret of the second string. This note is fretted by the ring finger in both chords, so you can leave this finger in place when going from Cadd9 to D major.
Comments
You can think of Dsus2 as a D major chord with the middle finger lifted off the first string so it can be played open.