Asus4 is A major with its third pushed up a half step, from C# to D. The result is a chord that hangs in the air and wants to come back down. On the guitar that takes one finger on the B string, which is why Asus4 is everywhere in acoustic rhythm playing: as a quick decoration inside an A chord, or as a moment of tension before it.
Asus4 chord: notes and shapes at a glance
- Name: A suspended fourth
- Symbol: Asus4
- Notes: A, D, E
Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a
number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you
do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.
| Shape | Frets, low E to high E | Notes, low to high | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asus4, open | x02230 | A E A D E | The A chord with D on the B string. Three fingers, and the open strings do the rest. |
| Asus4, fifth fret barre | 577755 | A E A D E A | The Esus4 shape barred at the fifth fret. All six strings, root in the bass. |
| Asus4, twelfth fret | x 12 14 14 15 12 | A E A D E | The open shape an octave up: first finger barred at 12, second and third on D and G at 14, fourth on B at 15. |
Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.
Asus4 on the neck: every A, D, E
Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Asus4: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Asus4.
How to play Asus4, step by step
- Second finger on the fourth string (D) at fret 2: E, the fifth.
- Third finger on the third string (G) at fret 2: A, the root.
- Fourth finger on the second string (B) at fret 3: D, the fourth. This is the note that replaces the third.
- Open A string in the bass, open high E on top. Leave the low E silent.
Play the strings one by one. The D on the B string carries the whole color: if the fourth finger lies too flat and touches the high E, the top string dies and the chord sounds thin. Keep the fourth finger arched.
The A to Asus4 move
Most of the time Asus4 does not get its own bar. It flickers inside an A chord, for a beat or less, and that is a fretting hand trick worth learning on its own.
- Hold A as x02220 with the second and third fingers on the D and G strings and the first finger on the B string at fret 2.
- Hammer the fourth finger onto the B string at fret 3. You now hear D instead of C#: Asus4. The first finger can stay underneath, it makes no difference to the sound.
- Lift the fourth finger. C# comes back, and you are on A again.
Do it on beat 2 and beat 4 of a simple strum and the A chord starts to move. Slow it down with the online metronome first, then let it become automatic. The same trick works on D to Dsus4 and E to Esus4.
Asus4 and its neighbors
The open A family differs on one string only, the B string. Play them in a row and listen to how each note changes the mood.
Progressions with Asus4
| Progression | Shapes | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| A, Asus4, A | x02220, x02230, x02220 | Tension and release on a single chord. |
| Asus2, A, Asus4, A | x02200, x02220, x02230, x02220 | The B string goes open, 2, 3, 2: the full suspended family. |
| A, Asus4, D, E | x02220, x02230, xx0232, 022100 | The D at fret 3 of the B string is also in the D chord: keep that note in mind as the pivot of the change. |
| E, Asus4, A, D | 022100, x02230, x02220, xx0232 | Asus4 delays the arrival of A for one bar. |
Listen before you add a suspension everywhere: a sus4 on every bar stops being tension and becomes clutter.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Asus4 on guitar?
What notes are in an Asus4 chord?
Is Asus4 major or minor?
What is the difference between Asus4 and A7sus4?
How do you go back and forth between A and Asus4 quickly?
Who made this
Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.
More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.