Guitar chord · Open shape · Standard tuning
D suspended 4th guitar chord (Dsus4)
3 fingers, 4 strings, chart notation xx0233. Tap the chord chart to hear it strummed, then arpeggio it to check every note is ringing cleanly.
All the strings in one sweep, low to high — how the chord sounds in a song.
- Strings, low to high
- D · A · D · G
- Chord tones
- D R · G 4 · A 5
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 (R)
- G — the suspended 4th (4)
- A — the perfect 5th (5)
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 centre of gravity.
- Playing the 5th and 6th strings, which buries the suspension under bass notes that are not in the chord.
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.