On the piano, the Esus2 chord is the suspended 2nd chord built from E, F#, B. On piano it is played from the keys E, F#, B, root position first, then in inversions. 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 Esus2 chord?
The Esus2 chord is a suspended 2nd chord, and its notes are fixed: E, F#, 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 Esus2 at a glance. On the piano, Esus2 is the keys E, F#, B, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| E | Root |
| F# | 2 |
| 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 Esus2 are 2, 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.
Esus2 sounds light and ringing, a chord that asks a question rather than giving an answer. Listen for that character when you play it — if Esus2 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the piano, Esus2 is the keys E, F#, B, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Comparing Esus2 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, sus2 against sus4: Esus2 replaces the 3rd with the 2nd F#; the sus4 version replaces it with the 4th A. The sus2 sounds brighter and more open; the sus4 sounds tenser. 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 piano, play the keys E, F#, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus2 in turn.
How to play Esus2 on piano
On the piano, Esus2 is played from the keys E, F#, B. In root position the lowest note is E, the root, with the other notes stacked above it in the order E, F#, B. Play it with the right hand first, then with the left hand an octave lower, so both hands know the shape of Esus2 before you try it in a progression.
First inversion of Esus2 puts F# in the bass, with the notes in the order F#, B, E. The chord is still Esus2 — 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 E, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
Second inversion of Esus2 puts B in the bass, with the notes in the order B, E, F#. The chord is still Esus2 — 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 B rather than jump to E, 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 Esus2 in root position in the right hand is thumb on E, then one finger per note in order, with the little finger on the top note B. For the left hand, mirror it: little finger on the low E 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 Esus2 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 Esus2 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.
Never resolving it. A sus2 that never moves can sound unfinished. Try resolving it to the major triad and listen to the 2nd settle into the 3rd. On the piano, play the keys E, F#, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus2 in turn.
Muting the 2nd. The 2nd F# is the whole point of this chord. If the string or key carrying it is muted, the chord is just root and 5th — a power chord. On the piano, play the keys E, F#, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus2 in turn.
Overusing it. Because it is so open, a run of sus2 chords can sound vague. Use it as a colour between solid triads. On the piano, Esus2 is the keys E, F#, B, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Playing every inversion with the same hand shape. Each inversion of Esus2 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 Esus2 separately, hands apart, before you join them. On the piano, Esus2 is the keys E, F#, B, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Where Esus2 is used
Esus2 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. an open, modern sound in pop, folk and worship music. 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 Esus2 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the piano, Esus2 is the keys E, F#, B, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Because Esus2 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 Esus2 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the piano, Esus2 is the keys E, F#, B, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Esus2 on guitar, Esus2 on ukulele, Esus2 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning Esus2 on the piano and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — E, F#, B — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Esus2
A short worked example makes Esus2 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A – E – F#m – D in A major, the key Esus2 most often resolves toward: A – E – F#m – D. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Esus2 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 Esus2 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the piano, play the keys E, F#, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus2 in turn.
For a second exercise, play Esus2 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 Esus2 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Esus2 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: E, F#, 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 piano, the root-position keys E, F#, B show Esus2 most clearly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first inversion of Esus2?
The first inversion of Esus2 puts F# in the bass, with the notes in the order F#, B, E. The chord is still Esus2 — only the bass note has changed — and it is the inversion to use when the bass line steps to F#.
Which fingers do you use for Esus2 on piano?
In the right hand, start with the thumb on E and one finger per note in order, ending with the little finger on B. In the left hand, mirror it with the little finger on the low E. Longer fingers take the black keys, so check which notes of Esus2 are black keys before you settle on a fingering.
Is Esus2 major or minor?
Neither. Esus2 has no 3rd at all — the 2nd F# takes its place. That is why it sounds open and unresolved, and why it can replace either a major or a minor chord. On the piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.
What does sus2 mean in Esus2?
Sus2 means the 3rd of the chord is suspended — replaced by the 2nd, F#. The chord contains E, F#, B, so the 2nd is the note that defines its sound. On the piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.
How do you resolve Esus2?
The usual resolution is down to the major triad: F# moves to G#, the major 3rd. That small step from the 2nd to the 3rd is the classic sus2 resolution. On the piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.