Esus4 is a suspended 4th chord, and on the guitar it is played from the notes E, A, B. Its first guitar voicing is a barre chord at fret 2: low E string open; A string open; D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 2 (index finger); B string open; high e string open. This page is a complete reference for it: notes and intervals, fingerings, mistakes to avoid, the keys it belongs to and a short practice routine.
What notes are in the Esus4 chord?
The Esus4 chord is a suspended 4th chord, and its notes are fixed: E, A, B. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root E, so you can see the structure of Esus4 at a glance. On the guitar, the barre chord of Esus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| E | Root |
| A | 4 |
| B | 5 |
The root is E, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Esus4 are 4, 5. Once you know the intervals, you can build Esus4 from any root by counting the same semitone steps, which is how the chord works in every key. On the guitar, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Esus4 sounds ringing and suspended, a chord that holds its breath until the 4th drops to the 3rd. The colour is strongest when all the notes ring clearly. A muted chord tone, especially the 3rd or the 7th where the chord has one, flattens the character of Esus4 noticeably. On the guitar, the barre chord of Esus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Comparing Esus4 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, sus4 against sus2: Esus4 uses the 4th A where the sus2 uses the 2nd F#. The sus4 is tenser and its resolution to the 3rd is more dramatic. Play both chords slowly, one after the other, and notice which note moves. Naming that note out loud while you play is the fastest way to learn the difference. On the guitar, the barre chord of Esus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
How to play Esus4 on guitar
On the guitar, Esus4 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — E, A, B — in a different place on the neck. Start with the first voicing and get it clean before you try the movable shapes further up the neck. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
Another way to play Esus4 is the barre chord, in around fret 1: low E string open; A string open; D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 2 (index finger); B string open; high e string open. It barres across strings 3 to 4 at fret 2 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 3 to 4 evenly at fret 2, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Esus4 — E, A, B — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Another way to play Esus4 is the movable voicing, in around fret 2: low E string open; A string open; D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 4 (middle finger); B string open; high e string open. This voicing is comfortable because the fretted notes sit close together, from fret 2 to fret 4, so your hand stays relaxed and every note can ring. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Esus4 — E, A, B — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The barre chord puts Esus4 in around fret 1: low E string open; A string at fret 2 (index finger); D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 2 (index finger); B string open; high e string open. It barres across strings 2 to 4 at fret 2 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 2 to 4 evenly at fret 2, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Esus4 — E, A, B — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of Esus4 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide Esus4 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of Esus4 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into Esus4 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, A, B in Esus4.
A short practice routine for Esus4 on the guitar: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above E and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Guitar Chord Finder to see the diagram for Esus4 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Esus4 sound wrong on the guitar, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Hitting it too hard. A sus4 played at full volume can sound harsh. Play it a touch softer than the chord it resolves to. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in Esus4.
Barre collapsing on the high strings. In a barre voicing of Esus4, the high strings are the ones that buzz first, because the index finger presses hardest near the thumb. If the top notes of Esus4 sound dead, roll the barring finger slightly toward the fret and press from the arm, not from squeezing the neck. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, A, B in Esus4.
Never resolving the 4th. The 4th A wants to fall to G#. If you sit on the sus4 forever the chord sounds stuck. Practise the sus4-to-major move until the resolution feels natural. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, A, B in Esus4.
Resolving to the wrong 3rd. The sus4 resolves to the major 3rd G#, not the minor 3rd. Resolve to G and you have changed key, not resolved. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in Esus4.
Where Esus4 is used
Esus4 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of E major, the key of A major, the key of B major. a way to delay a chord: play the sus4, hold it, then let it fall to the triad. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward A major, the key a perfect fourth above E, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Esus4 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, A, B in Esus4.
Because Esus4 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain E triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try Esus4 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the guitar, the barre chord of Esus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Esus4 on piano, Esus4 on ukulele, Esus4 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning Esus4 on the guitar and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — E, A, B — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Esus4
A short worked example makes Esus4 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A – E – F#m – D in A major, the key Esus4 most often resolves toward: A – E – F#m – D. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Esus4 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on Esus4 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, A, B in Esus4.
For a second exercise, play Esus4 and then the chord a fourth above E, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move Esus4 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Esus4 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: E, A, B. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the guitar, the barre chord of Esus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you resolve Esus4?
Let the 4th A fall by a semitone to the major 3rd G#. That one-step move, sus4 to major, is the classic resolution and the sound every listener expects. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
Is Esus4 major or minor?
Neither, while it is suspended: it has no 3rd. It usually resolves to the major triad, which is why it is most often heard as a delayed major chord. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
How do you play Esus4 on the guitar?
The first voicing is the barre chord: frets 0–0–2–2–0–0, fingers 0–0–1–1–0–0, on the guitar. That voicing uses the notes E, A, B, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for Esus4, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is Esus4 hard to play on the guitar?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of Esus4 on the guitar is the easiest starting point, and the movable voicings further up the neck are harder because they need a barre or a wider stretch. Practise the first voicing cleanly at a slow tempo before you try the others, and the harder shapes will come more easily.
What is the easiest voicing of Esus4 on the guitar?
The barre chord is the easiest voicing listed for Esus4 on the guitar: frets 0–0–2–2–0–0, fingers 0–0–1–1–0–0. Learn that shape first, get every note ringing cleanly, and only then move on to the alternative voicings further up the neck.