Guitar chord · Open shape · Standard tuning
D suspended 4th guitar chord (Dsus4)
Place finger 1 on the 2nd fret of the G, finger 3 on the 3rd fret of the B, finger 4 on the 3rd fret of the high e. Don't play the low E or A strings.
D – G – A
Loop strum: down, down-up, up-down-up on 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
Next moves
3 fingers, 4 strings, chart notation xx0233. Tap the chord box to hear it strummed, then play it string by string to check every note is ringing cleanly.
How to play Dsus4
Finger numbers run 1 for the index to 4 for the little finger. String names are given as players say them — the low E is the thickest string (the 6th) and the high E is the thinnest (the 1st).
- 1st finger (index) — 2nd fret, G string
- 3rd finger (ring) — 3rd fret, B string
- 4th finger (little) — 3rd fret, high E string
- Play open: D (4th) — strum it without fretting anything.
- Leave out: low E (6th) and A (5th) — start the strum below them, or damp them with the side of the thumb.
| String | Fret | Finger | Note it sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th — low E | Not played | — | × |
| 5th — A | Not played | — | × |
| 4th — D | Open | — | D |
| 3rd — G | 2nd fret | 1 (index) | A |
| 2nd — B | 3rd fret | 3 (ring) | D |
| 1st — high E | 3rd fret | 4 (little) | G |
Notes and intervals in Dsus4
Dsus4 is built from 3 notes: D, G and A.
- D — the root
- G — the suspended 4th
- A — the perfect 5th
Across the six strings the shape sounds D · A · D · G from low to high, so some notes are doubled in different octaves — that is what gives an open guitar chord its width compared with the same chord on a keyboard.
What Dsus4 is used for
Dsus4 replaces D's F♯ with a G, so the major 3rd disappears and the chord is left hanging. It is decoration rather than a destination: hold D, drop the little finger onto the 3rd fret of the high E for a beat, lift it again, and the chord resolves back into D of its own accord.
Common mistakes with Dsus4
- Refingering from scratch. Hold the D shape and add the little finger — the whole value of the chord is that it is one finger away.
- Leaving the little finger down. A suspension is meant to resolve; hold it too long and the progression loses its center of gravity.
- Playing the 5th and 6th strings, which buries the suspension under bass notes that are not in the chord.
A first strum pattern
Count “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” — eighth notes (quavers). Strum down, down-up, up-down-up: down on 1, down on 2, up on the “&” of 2, up on the “&” of 3, down on 4, up on the “&” of 4. Keep your hand moving down and up all the time, and only touch the strings on the marked counts.
Start the strum loop above at 60–70 BPM and change chords on beat 1.
D suspended 4th FAQ
How do you play D suspended 4th on guitar?
Place finger 1 on the 2nd fret of the G, finger 3 on the 3rd fret of the B, finger 4 on the 3rd fret of the high e. Don't play the low E or A strings. In chart notation it is xx0233, low E string first.
What notes are in D suspended 4th?
D, G and A: the root, the suspended 4th and the perfect 5th.
What chord comes after D suspended 4th?
Common changes from D suspended 4th: E suspended 4th and B♭ major. Practice the switch slowly with the strum loop, then speed it up.
Guitar chord data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.