Guitar · suspended fourth
F♯sus4 Chord on Guitar
F# Suspended 4th is F#, B, C# — the 1-4-5 pattern of a suspended fourth chord. There are 2 ways to play it on guitar, ranked below from easiest to hardest.
There is no open F#sus4 shape on guitar — every version asks for a barre, which is exactly why this chord stops so many players. The one marked “E Shape Barre (2nd fret)” below is the friendliest grip, so start there.
Start here — E Shape Barre (2nd fret)
Barre at fret 2 — harder to hold than an open shape, but movable: slide it and you have every other suspended fourth chord.
Every way to play it — 2 shapes, easiest first
Same chord in all of them. What changes is how much your hand has to do and where on the neck it sits.
E Shape Barre (2nd fret) Way 1 of 2
E Shape Barre (2nd fret)
Easiest here· intermediate· the standard shape
Barre at fret 2 — harder to hold than an open shape, but movable: slide it and you have every other suspended fourth chord.
A Shape Barre (9th fret) Way 2 of 2
A Shape Barre (9th fret)
intermediate
Barre at fret 9 — the same movable idea, further up the neck: brighter, more compact, and easier to reach if you are already playing up there.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: E Shape Barre (2nd fret) — barred at fret 2.
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
F#sus4 on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on guitar.
F#sus4 on Guitar — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play F#sus4 on guitar?
“E Shape Barre (2nd fret)” — which we rate intermediate — is the easiest F#sus4 shape on guitar. Barre at fret 2 — harder to hold than an open shape, but movable: slide it and you have every other suspended fourth chord. There is no open F#sus4 on guitar, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.
What notes are in the F# Suspended 4th chord?
F# Suspended 4th is F#, B, C# — the 1-4-5 interval pattern of a suspended fourth chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
How many ways can you play F#sus4 on guitar?
This page has 2 F#sus4 voicings for guitar, ranked from easiest to hardest: E Shape Barre (2nd fret), A Shape Barre (9th fret). They all sound like F#sus4; the differences are how hard they are to hold and how high they sit.
What can I play instead of F#sus4?
The nearest stand-ins on guitar that keep the same root are F#5, F#sus2, F#. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play F#sus4 on other instruments?
Yes. F#sus4 is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind F#sus4
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Barre Chords — The Wall Every Guitarist Climbs
This one asks for a barre. The article is the fix for the buzzing and the aching hand.
7 min read
Chord Inversions and Slash Chords — Same Notes, Different Attitude
Suspending or adding a tone is a voicing decision, the same kind as an inversion or a slash chord.
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Chord Progressions Explained
These chords earn their keep inside a progression, leaning on the plain chord that follows.
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