The Bsus4 piano chord contains B, E, F#. On piano it is played from the keys B, E, F#, root position first, then in inversions. As a suspended 4th chord it has a distinct job in a progression, and this page explains that job alongside the fingerings, the notes and the practice steps that make it stick.
What notes are in the Bsus4 chord?
The Bsus4 chord is a suspended 4th chord, and its notes are fixed: B, E, F#. 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 B, so you can see the structure of Bsus4 at a glance. On the piano, play the keys B, E, F# slowly and listen for each note of Bsus4 in turn.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| B | Root |
| E | 4 |
| F# | 5 |
The root is B, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Bsus4 are 4, 5. Learn those intervals rather than memorising the shape alone, because the same interval pattern transposed to another root gives you the same quality of chord anywhere. On the piano, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Bsus4 sounds ringing and suspended, a chord that holds its breath until the 4th drops to the 3rd. Listen for that character when you play it — if Bsus4 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the piano, Bsus4 is the keys B, E, F#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Comparing Bsus4 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, sus4 against sus2: Bsus4 uses the 4th E where the sus2 uses the 2nd C#. The sus4 is tenser and its resolution to the 3rd is more dramatic. Practise the two chords back to back and listen to the one note that changes — that single note is the difference between the two chords. On the piano, Bsus4 is the keys B, E, F#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
How to play Bsus4 on piano
On the piano, Bsus4 is played from the keys B, E, F#. In root position the lowest note is B, the root, with the other notes stacked above it in the order B, E, F#. Play it with the right hand first, then with the left hand an octave lower, so both hands know the shape of Bsus4 before you try it in a progression.
First inversion of Bsus4 puts E in the bass, with the notes in the order E, F#, B. The chord is still Bsus4 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to E rather than jump to B, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Second inversion of Bsus4 puts F# in the bass, with the notes in the order F#, B, E. The chord is still Bsus4 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to F# rather than jump to B, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
For fingering, a good starting point for Bsus4 in root position in the right hand is thumb on B, then one finger per note in order, with the little finger on the top note F#. For the left hand, mirror it: little finger on the low B and thumb on the top note. When a note is a black key — F# — let your longer fingers take it, since they reach the black keys more easily. Practise Bsus4 in root position and first inversion, hands separately, then together, at a slow tempo, and use the Piano Chord Finder to check the voicing on the keyboard.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Bsus4 sound wrong on the piano, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Playing every inversion with the same hand shape. Each inversion of Bsus4 needs its own hand shape, because the notes sit under different fingers. If you force the root-position fingering onto an inversion, the hand cramps and notes get missed. Learn the fingering for each inversion of Bsus4 separately, hands apart, before you join them. On the piano, Bsus4 is the keys B, E, F#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Never resolving the 4th. The 4th E wants to fall to D#. If you sit on the sus4 forever the chord sounds stuck. Practise the sus4-to-major move until the resolution feels natural. On the piano, Bsus4 is the keys B, E, F#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Resolving to the wrong 3rd. The sus4 resolves to the major 3rd D#, not the minor 3rd. Resolve to D and you have changed key, not resolved. On the piano, Bsus4 is the keys B, E, F#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Playing the 3rd as well. If D# sounds together with E the chord clashes badly. The 3rd must be absent while the 4th is present. On the piano, play the keys B, E, F# slowly and listen for each note of Bsus4 in turn.
Where Bsus4 is used
Bsus4 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 F# 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 E major, the key a perfect fourth above B, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Bsus4 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the piano, play the keys B, E, F# slowly and listen for each note of Bsus4 in turn.
Because Bsus4 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 B 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 Bsus4 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the piano, Bsus4 is the keys B, E, F#, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Bsus4 on guitar, Bsus4 on ukulele, Bsus4 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the B major scale and the B minor pentatonic scale. Learning Bsus4 on the piano and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — B, E, F# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Bsus4
A short worked example makes Bsus4 concrete. Play the four-chord progression E – B – C#m – A in E major, the key Bsus4 most often resolves toward: E – B – C#m – A. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Bsus4 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 Bsus4 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the piano, the root-position keys B, E, F# show Bsus4 most clearly.
For a second exercise, play Bsus4 and then the chord a fourth above B, 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 Bsus4 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Bsus4 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: B, E, F#. 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 piano, play the keys B, E, F# slowly and listen for each note of Bsus4 in turn.
Frequently asked questions
Which fingers do you use for Bsus4 on piano?
In the right hand, start with the thumb on B and one finger per note in order, ending with the little finger on F#. In the left hand, mirror it with the little finger on the low B. Longer fingers take the black keys, so check which notes of Bsus4 are black keys before you settle on a fingering.
What does sus4 mean in Bsus4?
Sus4 means the 3rd of the chord is suspended — replaced by the 4th, E. Bsus4 contains B, E, F#, and the 4th is the note that makes it sound tense and unresolved. On the piano, check the root-position keys above for that note.
How do you resolve Bsus4?
Let the 4th E fall by a semitone to the major 3rd D#. That one-step move, sus4 to major, is the classic resolution and the sound every listener expects. On the piano, check the root-position keys above for that note.
Is Bsus4 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 piano, check the root-position keys above for that note.
How do you play Bsus4 on the piano?
In root position, play the keys B, E, F#, with B as the lowest note. That is the basic shape of Bsus4 on the piano. The inversions above put a different note in the bass, and the Chord Inverter shows every inversion of Bsus4 on the keyboard.