The most suspenseful chord on the guitar must be… the major minor 7 chord! Sounds like that old Batman TV show. Or is it the sus4 chord? I think it goes to the major minor 7 chord because it sounds like a James Bond movie or some old 1960s spy show. But the problem with that chord is it's really not that useful. However, that sus4 chord is incredibly useful! It is in millions of great songs, so we want to get good at it. Plus, not only is it a cool chord, it's the foundation for so many great licks from classic solos.
In my latest video series on YouTube and on our Patreon group, we explore how to play sus4 chords all over the guitar fretboard and how to use sus4 harmony in solos.
The Basics of sus4 on guitar
So what does a number in a chord name mean anyway? We see all kinds of chord names with numbers in them and it's actually very simple. The number just refers to a note in relation to the root of that chord. So for example, if we're looking for a 4 on an A chord, we would follow from the root, the root A, B, C#... D so it's D.
The sus4 chord is a particular situation -- the four is not just added to the chord, it's the fact that the 3rd of the chord is raised 1/2 step. So when you raise a major third up one fret, in the case of the guitar, it becomes a 4th. So you take the third, you raise it a fret, you get Asus4.
So don't forget, we're going to put all the tabs on our Patreon, plus some bonus lessons on how to play sus4 licks.
Download the sus4 guitar chord cheat sheet using the link below.
Below is the chart showing open chords, sus4 versions of those, bar chords and their sus4 options, plus several other chord shapes I commonly use up the guitar fretboard.
