B Suspended 4th (Bsus4)

1+4+5
BEF#
4 4
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Notes in B Suspended 4th

B (root)EF#

Inversions

Same notes as B Suspended 4th, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

B in the bass

BEF#

1st inversion

E in the bass

EBF#

2nd inversion

F# in the bass

BEF#

Press B, E and F# together on the keyboard and you're playing B Suspended 4th.

The other suspension raises the missing third up to a perfect fourth, which sits a half step above where the third would normally be. That closeness creates real tension, and it's why a sus4 chord so often falls straight back down into the plain major or minor triad on the same root a beat later.

Difficulty: Beginner. Category: Triads. Click any key on the diagram above to hear that single note.