To play Esus4 on the piano, you need the notes E, A, B. On piano it is played from the keys E, A, B, root position first, then in inversions. This guide covers the suspended 4th chord in full: what is in it, how to play it cleanly on the piano, where it fits musically and how to practise it.
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 piano, play the keys E, A, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus4 in turn.
| 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 piano, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Esus4 sounds open but restless, the classic suspended sound that every listener recognises as unfinished business. 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 piano, play the keys E, A, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus4 in turn.
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 piano, the root-position keys E, A, B show Esus4 most clearly.
How to play Esus4 on piano
On the piano, Esus4 is played from the keys E, A, B. In root position the lowest note is E, the root, with the other notes stacked above it in the order E, A, B. Play it with the right hand first, then with the left hand an octave lower, so both hands know the shape of Esus4 before you try it in a progression.
First inversion of Esus4 puts A in the bass, with the notes in the order A, B, E. The chord is still Esus4 — 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 A 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 Esus4 puts B in the bass, with the notes in the order B, E, A. The chord is still Esus4 — 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 Esus4 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 — none of the notes in this chord are black keys — let your longer fingers take it, since they reach the black keys more easily. Practise Esus4 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 Esus4 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 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 piano, Esus4 is the keys E, A, B, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
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 piano, play the keys E, A, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus4 in turn.
Playing the 3rd as well. If G# sounds together with A the chord clashes badly. The 3rd must be absent while the 4th is present. On the piano, play the keys E, A, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus4 in turn.
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 piano, play the keys E, A, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus4 in turn.
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. 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 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 piano, the root-position keys E, A, B show Esus4 most clearly.
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 piano, play the keys E, A, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus4 in turn.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Esus4 on guitar, 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 piano 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 piano, Esus4 is the keys E, A, B, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
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 piano, play the keys E, A, B slowly and listen for each note of Esus4 in turn.
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 piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.
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 piano, the keys above put that note under your fingers.
How do you play Esus4 on the piano?
In root position, play the keys E, A, B, with E as the lowest note. That is the basic shape of Esus4 on the piano. The inversions above put a different note in the bass, and the Chord Inverter shows every inversion of Esus4 on the keyboard.
What is the first inversion of Esus4?
The first inversion of Esus4 puts A in the bass, with the notes in the order A, B, E. The chord is still Esus4 — only the bass note has changed — and it is the inversion to use when the bass line steps to A.
Which fingers do you use for Esus4 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 Esus4 are black keys before you settle on a fingering.