On the mandolin, the Asus4 chord is the suspended 4th chord built from A, D, E. Its first mandolin voicing is the open position: G string at fret 2 (index finger); D string open; A string open; E string open. Keep this page open while you practise: it lists the notes, every practical voicing, the mistakes that make it sound wrong and the progressions where it does its best work.
What notes are in the Asus4 chord?
The Asus4 chord is a suspended 4th chord, and its notes are fixed: A, D, E. 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 A, so you can see the structure of Asus4 at a glance. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, D, E in Asus4.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| A | Root |
| D | 4 |
| E | 5 |
The root is A, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Asus4 are 4, 5. Those intervals are the fingerprint of the suspended 4th quality — any chord with the same interval pattern, on any root, is the same kind of chord. On the mandolin, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Asus4 sounds ringing and suspended, a chord that holds its breath until the 4th drops to the 3rd. That character comes straight from the intervals above, not from the instrument: the same notes on piano, guitar or ukulele carry the same colour, even though the voicing changes. On the mandolin, the open position of Asus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Comparing Asus4 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, sus4 against sus2: Asus4 uses the 4th D where the sus2 uses the 2nd B. The sus4 is tenser and its resolution to the 3rd is more dramatic. Hearing the comparison matters more than reading it: play Asus4, then play the chord it is compared with above, and let your ear find the note that changed. On the mandolin, the open position of Asus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
How to play Asus4 on mandolin
On the mandolin, Asus4 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — A, D, E — 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.
The open position is the voicing to learn if you want Asus4 in around fret 1: G string at fret 2 (index finger); D string open; A string open; E string open. This voicing is comfortable because the fretted notes sit close together, from fret 2 to fret 2, so your hand stays relaxed and every note can ring. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Asus4 — A, D, E — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The barre chord puts Asus4 in around fret 2: G string at fret 2 (index finger); D string at fret 2 (index finger); A string at fret 5 (middle finger); E string open. It barres across strings 1 to 2 at fret 2 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 1 to 2 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 Asus4 — A, D, E — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The movable voicing is the voicing to learn if you want Asus4 in around fret 2: G string at fret 2 (index finger); D string open; A string at fret 5 (middle finger); E string open. The stretch is the challenge: the fretted notes span from fret 2 to fret 5, so keep your thumb low behind the neck and let your fingers reach rather than squeezing the neck. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Asus4 — A, D, E — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of Asus4 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 Asus4 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of Asus4 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into Asus4 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, D, E in Asus4.
A short practice routine for Asus4 on the mandolin: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above A 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 Mandolin Chord Finder to see the diagram for Asus4 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 Asus4 sound wrong on the mandolin, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Never resolving the 4th. The 4th D wants to fall to C#. If you sit on the sus4 forever the chord sounds stuck. Practise the sus4-to-major move until the resolution feels natural. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, D, E in Asus4.
Resolving to the wrong 3rd. The sus4 resolves to the major 3rd C#, not the minor 3rd. Resolve to C and you have changed key, not resolved. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in Asus4.
Playing the 3rd as well. If C# sounds together with D the chord clashes badly. The 3rd must be absent while the 4th is present. On the mandolin, the open position of Asus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
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 mandolin, the open position of Asus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Where Asus4 is used
Asus4 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 D major, the key of E major, the key of A major. the chord before the resolution — sus4 to major is one of the most used moves in all music. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward D major, the key a perfect fourth above A, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Asus4 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in Asus4.
Because Asus4 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 A 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 Asus4 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the mandolin, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in Asus4.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Asus4 on guitar, Asus4 on piano, Asus4 on ukulele, and the scales that fit over it are the A major scale and the A minor pentatonic scale. Learning Asus4 on the mandolin and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — A, D, E — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Asus4
A short worked example makes Asus4 concrete. Play the four-chord progression D – A – Bm – G in D major, the key Asus4 most often resolves toward: D – A – Bm – G. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Asus4 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 Asus4 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the mandolin, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, D, E in Asus4.
For a second exercise, play Asus4 and then the chord a fourth above A, 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 Asus4 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Asus4 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: A, D, E. 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 mandolin, the open position of Asus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you resolve Asus4?
Let the 4th D fall by a semitone to the major 3rd C#. That one-step move, sus4 to major, is the classic resolution and the sound every listener expects. On the mandolin, check the first voicing above for that note.
Is Asus4 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 mandolin, check the first voicing above for that note.
How do you play Asus4 on the mandolin?
The first voicing is the open position: frets 2–0–0–0, fingers 1–0–0–0, on the mandolin. That voicing uses the notes A, D, E, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for Asus4, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is Asus4 hard to play on the mandolin?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of Asus4 on the mandolin 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 Asus4 on the mandolin?
The open position is the easiest voicing listed for Asus4 on the mandolin: frets 2–0–0–0, fingers 1–0–0–0. Learn that shape first, get every note ringing cleanly, and only then move on to the alternative voicings further up the neck.