Piano chord · Suspended 4th
G suspended 4th piano chord (Gsus4)
G, C and D, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in Gsus4: G, C and D
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| G | Root | G4 · white key |
| C | Perfect 4th | C5 · white key |
| D | Perfect 5th | D5 · white key |
- Chord symbol: Gsus4 — G 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 Gsus4 works
Gsus4 swaps G major's B for C and is the classic way to delay a V chord: Gsus4–G–C makes an ending sound inevitable. It is all white keys and sits under the hand exactly like G major, one key wider.
Gsus4 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
G–C–D — the root, G, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — C in the bass
C–D–G — the same three notes, reordered so C is lowest.
2nd inversion — D in the bass
D–G–C — the same three notes, reordered so D is lowest.
Common mistakes on Gsus4
- Playing it as an inversion of C major. With G in the bass it is Gsus4, and it wants to resolve to G.
- Rushing the resolution. Give the suspension its full beat before the C falls to B.
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.