If you want to play D7sus4 on the ukulele, start with its notes: D, G, A, C. Its first ukulele voicing is a barre chord at fret 2: G string at fret 2 (index finger); C string at fret 2 (index finger); E string at fret 3 (middle finger); A string at fret 3 (middle finger). This is a 7th suspended 4th chord, and the sections below take you from the notes table to real fingerings, common mistakes and the musical contexts where D7sus4 sounds right.
What notes are in the D7sus4 chord?
The D7sus4 chord is a 7th suspended 4th chord, and its notes are fixed: D, G, A, C. 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 D, so you can see the structure of D7sus4 at a glance. On the ukulele, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes D, G, A, C in D7sus4.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| D | Root |
| G | 4 |
| A | 5 |
| C | b7 |
The root is D, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in D7sus4 are 4, 5, b7. 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 ukulele, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
D7sus4 sounds spacious and dramatic, the sus4 colour on top of a dominant 7th. Listen for that character when you play it — if D7sus4 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the ukulele, the barre chord of D7sus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Comparing D7sus4 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, 7sus4 against sus4: D7sus4 adds the flattened 7th C to the sus4 triad. The 7th makes it a dominant chord; the plain sus4 is neither major nor minor. 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 ukulele, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes D, G, A, C in D7sus4.
How to play D7sus4 on ukulele
On the ukulele, D7sus4 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — D, G, A, C — 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 barre chord puts D7sus4 in around fret 1: G string at fret 2 (index finger); C string at fret 2 (index finger); E string at fret 3 (middle finger); A string at fret 3 (middle finger). 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 D7sus4 — D, G, A, C — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
For the movable voicing, D7sus4 sits in around fret 2: G string open; C string at fret 2 (index finger); E string at fret 5 (ring finger); A string at fret 3 (middle finger). 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 D7sus4 — D, G, A, C — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
For the movable voicing, D7sus4 sits in around fret 2: G string at fret 2 (index finger); C string open; E string at fret 3 (middle finger); A string at fret 5 (ring finger). 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 D7sus4 — D, G, A, C — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of D7sus4 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 D7sus4 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of D7sus4 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into D7sus4 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the ukulele, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in D7sus4.
A short practice routine for D7sus4 on the ukulele: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above D 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 Ukulele Chord Finder to see the diagram for D7sus4 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 D7sus4 sound wrong on the ukulele, 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 suspension. The 4th G wants to fall to F#. Practise the 7sus4-to-7 move so the resolution is clean. On the ukulele, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes D, G, A, C in D7sus4.
Playing the 3rd as well. If F# sounds with G, the chord clashes. The 3rd must be absent while the suspension lasts. On the ukulele, the barre chord of D7sus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Forgetting the 7th. Without C this is just a sus4 triad. The 7th is what makes it a dominant chord. On the ukulele, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in D7sus4.
Holding it too long. A suspended chord that never resolves sounds stuck. Use it as a delay, not a destination. On the ukulele, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in D7sus4.
Where D7sus4 is used
D7sus4 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 G major, the key of A major. a V chord in rock, pop and jazz, where the suspension adds drama before the tonic. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward G major, the key a perfect fourth above D, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where D7sus4 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the ukulele, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes D, G, A, C in D7sus4.
Because D7sus4 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 D 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 D7sus4 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the ukulele, the barre chord of D7sus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in D7sus4 on guitar, D7sus4 on piano, D7sus4 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the D major scale and the D minor pentatonic scale. Learning D7sus4 on the ukulele and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — D, G, A, C — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising D7sus4
A short worked example makes D7sus4 concrete. Play the four-chord progression G – D – Em – C in G major, the key D7sus4 most often resolves toward: G – D – Em – C. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how D7sus4 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 D7sus4 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the ukulele, the barre chord of D7sus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
For a second exercise, play D7sus4 and then the chord a fourth above D, 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 D7sus4 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing D7sus4 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: D, G, A, C. 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 ukulele, the barre chord of D7sus4 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in D7sus4?
D7sus4 contains D, G, A, C: root D, 4th G, perfect 5th A and flattened 7th C. There is no 3rd — the 4th takes its place until it resolves. On the ukulele, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
How do you resolve D7sus4?
Let the 4th G fall to the major 3rd F#, turning the chord into the dominant 7th, which then resolves to the tonic. That two-step resolution is the classic 7sus4 move. On the ukulele, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
Where is D7sus4 used?
D7sus4 is a V chord in rock, pop and jazz, used to delay a resolution. It appears before dominant 7th chords and at the ends of phrases, where the suspension adds drama. On the ukulele, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
How do you play D7sus4 on the ukulele?
The first voicing is the barre chord: frets 2–2–3–3, fingers 1–1–2–2, on the ukulele. That voicing uses the notes D, G, A, C, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for D7sus4, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is D7sus4 hard to play on the ukulele?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of D7sus4 on the ukulele 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.