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The E7sus4 chord on guitar: two fingers, six strings, one move to E7

E7sus4 is an E7 with its third swapped for a fourth: G# becomes A. It is one of the easiest chords on the guitar, two fingers and every string ringing, and one of the most useful for making a progression in E or in A breathe. Its whole job is to hang in the air for a moment and then fall back onto E7 or straight onto A.

E7sus4 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: E dominant seventh suspended fourth
  • Symbol: E7sus4
  • Notes: E, A, B, D

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
E7sus4, one finger 000200 E A D A B E The quickest E7sus4 there is: one finger, six strings. The open A string gives the fourth twice.
E7sus4, open 020200 E B D A B E The standard open shape: E with B on the fifth string, the open D as the seventh.
E7sus4, seventh on top 020230 E B D A D E Adds D on the second string, so the seventh rings in the treble as well as the middle.
E7sus4, four strings xx2435 E B D A The D7sus4 shape moved up two frets. No open strings, so you can mute it and play it funky.
E7sus4, one finger 0 0 0 2 0 0 · · · 2 · · fingers
E7sus4, open 0 2 0 2 0 0 · 2 · 3 · · fingers
E7sus4, seventh on top 0 2 0 2 3 0 · 2 · 3 4 · fingers
E7sus4, four strings x x 2 4 3 5 · · 1 3 2 4 fingers

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.

E7sus4 on the neck: every E, A, B, D

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of E7sus4: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still E7sus4.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
2 - B
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
3 - G
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
4 - D
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
5 - A
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
6 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E

How to play E7sus4, step by step

The open shape: 020200

  1. Second finger on the fifth string (A) at fret 2. That note is B, the fifth.
  2. Third finger on the third string (G) at fret 2. That note is A, the suspended fourth.
  3. Leave the low E, D, B and high E strings open, and strum all six.

The open D string is what makes it a seventh chord. Keep the second finger arched so it does not lean on the D string: if D goes dead, you are back to plain Esus4.

The shortcut: 000200

Lift the second finger and let the A string ring open. You lose the B on the fifth string, but A, the fourth, is already in the chord, so the result is still a complete E7sus4. It is a little darker in the bass, and handy when the chord before it leaves no time to settle.

In the open shape, the first finger has nothing to do. Hold it just above the G string at fret 1: it is the finger that turns E7sus4 into E7.

Suspension and resolution: E7sus4 to E7

A sus4 chord sounds unfinished because the fourth sits half a step above the third, and the ear wants it to step down. On E7sus4 that step is A to G#, on the third string.

Chord Shape G string What you hear
E7sus4 020200 fret 2, A Open, waiting
E7 020100 fret 1, G# Settled, but still pulling toward A

Play two beats of E7sus4, two beats of E7, and repeat. In blues and rock in E, that rocking back and forth on a held E chord is a classic ornament: the right hand keeps strumming, only one finger of the left hand moves. The same move, on the same string, takes Esus4 to E.

Where E7sus4 fits

E7 is the V7 chord of A major and of A minor, the chord that leads home. E7sus4 delays that arrival by one more step, which is why it turns up right before the last chord of a phrase:

  • In A: D, E7sus4, E7, A. The sus4 holds the tension, E7 sharpens it, A releases it.
  • In a blues in E: E, E7sus4, E7 on the first four bars, as a moving color over the I chord.
  • As an ending: some songs stop on E7sus4 and never resolve, leaving the last bar open on purpose.

For the ideas behind these moves, the chord progressions page lays out the common patterns, and chords in every key shows where E7 sits in A.

E7sus4 up the neck

The four string shape xx2435 is the D7sus4 shape moved up two frets: E on the D string, B, D and A above it. With no open strings it can be muted between strums, which suits funk and soul.

Two bigger shapes are worth knowing even though their fret numbers run past 9:

  • x 7 9 7 10 7: the A7sus4 barre shape at the seventh fret. E, B, D, A, B, with the root on the fifth string. First finger barres fret 7, fourth finger reaches fret 10 on the B string.
  • 12 14 12 14 12 12: the open shape played an octave up, with the first finger as the nut at fret 12.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play E7sus4 on guitar?
The standard open shape is 020200: second finger on the A string at fret 2, third finger on the G string at fret 2, and all six strings strummed. If you want it even simpler, 000200 is also a complete E7sus4 with one finger on the G string.
What notes are in E7sus4?
Four: E, A, B and D. E is the root, A the fourth, B the fifth and D the minor seventh. There is no G#, so the chord is neither major nor minor until it resolves.
What is the difference between Esus4 and E7sus4?
One string. Esus4 is 022200, with E on the D string at fret 2. E7sus4 lets that D string ring open: the open D is the seventh. The chord gets wider and pulls harder toward E7 or A.
How do you go from E7sus4 to E7?
Lift the finger on the G string at fret 2 and put the first finger on the same string at fret 1: 020200 becomes 020100. The A drops to G#, the fourth becomes the major third, and the suspension resolves. Nothing else moves.
Can I play E7sus4 instead of E7?
For a beat or two, yes; for a whole bar that should sound like E7, usually not. E7sus4 has no G#, and G# is the note that leads into A. Use the sus4 to delay the E7, then let the real E7 arrive before the chord it resolves to.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

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.