Csus4 Guitar Chord

Learn how to play the basic beginner guitar chord Csus4 (also known as C Suspended 4) with this free guitar lesson.

The Csus4 Chord is a fairly easy guitar chord to play. Just like the C Major Chord, this chord is also found in the C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C. It is made up of the 1, 4 and 5 of the C Major scale. Meaning the notes C, F and G. We are replacing the E note of the C Major chord with an F note which gives us this sus4 chord. The guitar chord charts below will further demonstrate how to play this chord.

The Notes of The Csus4 Chord: C  F  G

Here is a key that will help you read the chart:

Everything on the above chart should be self explanatory, except for the last three in the third column. They may need a bit of explaining. The O, or open symbol, simply means that you do not press down on any notes on that string. The X means you do not strum that particular string. The Barre symbol means you need to barre that particular fret. When you barre a fret you are pressing down on multiple strings at the same time with one finger.

Technically speaking, the above chord shape is a chord inversion.  This means that instead of the bass or lowest note being a “C”, which is the root of this chord, it is an “F”.

Csus4 Video Demonstration

Below is a video demonstration of another way to play the Csus4 guitar chord.

Chord Playing Tip: Be sure that you are pressing down on the strings hard enough. You should play each string one at a time to make sure you have a nice clean sound. If any of the strings buzz or sound muted, then something is not right.