Piano chord · Suspended 4th
C suspended 4th piano chord (Csus4)
C, F and G, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in Csus4: C, F and G
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| C | Root | C4 · white key |
| F | Perfect 4th | F4 · white key |
| G | Perfect 5th | G4 · white key |
- Chord symbol: Csus4 — C suspended 4th
- Formula: R · 4 · 5 (0 · 5 · 7 semitones from the root)
- Right hand fingering: 1-3-5 — thumb, middle finger and little finger
- Left hand fingering: 5-3-1, little finger on the root
How Csus4 works
Csus4 raises C major's E to F, the fourth, and leaves the chord wanting to fall back. Csus4 to C is one finger moving one key — the classic way to add movement to a held chord.
Csus4 inversions
An inversion keeps the same notes and changes which one is at the bottom. That matters because it lets you move between chords without jumping: the closer the notes of the next chord are to the ones your hand is already holding, the smoother it sounds and the easier it is to play. Root position first, then two inversions.
Root position
C–F–G — the root, C, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — F in the bass
F–G–C — the same three notes, reordered so F is lowest.
2nd inversion — G in the bass
G–C–F — the same three notes, reordered so G is lowest.
Common mistakes on Csus4
- Holding the sus4 too long. It is a delay before C, not a replacement for it.
- Moving the whole hand to play it. Keep C and G down and let only the middle finger step from E to F and back.
Piano 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.