Esus4 chord on guitar

Esus4 is E, A and B. The easiest shape is 0-2-2-2-0-0. Press Play to hear it, then try it at half speed.

0-2-2-2-0-0 · open · easy

Notes: E · A · B
Formula: 1 · 4 · 5
First shape: 0-2-2-2-0-0

How to play Esus4 on guitar

Shape 1, 0-2-2-2-0-0, reading from the low E string on the left:

Put your index finger on the A string at the 2nd fret, which is B.
Put your middle finger on the D string at the 2nd fret, which is E.
Put your ring finger on the G string at the 2nd fret, which is A.
The open low E, B and high E strings add E, B and E; don't touch them.

If an open string sounds dead, a fingertip is leaning on it. Come down more on the tips, with your knuckles bent.

Other ways to play Esus4

12-14-14-14-12-12: barre shape at the 12th fret, medium. Root on the 6th string: move it up or down and it names a different suspended fourth chord.
x-7-9-9-10-7: barre shape at the 7th fret, medium. The root is on the A string; it's the Asus4 shape moved up the neck.

Playing Esus4 with a capo

A capo turns an open chord into Esus4: capo on the 2nd fret and play the open Dsus4 shape (x-x-0-2-3-3) or capo on the 7th fret and play the open Asus4 shape (x-0-2-2-3-0). Handy when the rest of the song's chords also have open shapes in that position.

Moving between Esus4 and its neighbours

These are the changes you'll meet most often with Esus4, using the first shape of each chord.

E (resolves down to the third): Esus4 (0-2-2-2-0-0) to E (0-2-2-1-0-0): the index finger goes to the G string, 1st fret, the middle finger slides across to the A string at the same fret, the ring finger slides across to the D string at the same fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. Shared notes: E and B. E on guitar
A (IV in E major): Esus4 (0-2-2-2-0-0) to A (x-0-2-2-2-0): the index finger slides across to the D string at the same fret, the middle finger slides across to the G string at the same fret, the ring finger slides across to the B string at the same fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. Shared notes: E and A. A on guitar
B (V in E major): Esus4 (0-2-2-2-0-0) to B (x-2-4-4-4-2): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 2nd fret, the middle finger goes to the D string, 4th fret, your ring finger lands on the G string, 4th fret, the pinky finger comes down on the B string, 4th fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. B carries over from one chord to the other. B on guitar

Esus4 lifts the third up to the fourth. Esus4 holds the fourth where the third should be; drop it a half step or whole step into E or Em to resolve. On guitar you hear it best picked slowly, string by string.

Getting Esus4 under your fingers

Before strumming, play 0-2-2-2-0-0 note by note: E then B then E then A then B then E. A dead note tells you exactly which finger to fix. Next, alternate 0-2-2-2-0-0 and 12-14-14-14-12-12, slowly, until the change takes less than a beat.

Where Esus4 shows up

Esus4 on piano and ukulele

The same notes on another instrument: Esus4 on piano and Esus4 on ukulele. This page puts all three side by side.

Close to Esus4

Other suspended fourth chords

Esus4 on guitar: questions

What notes are in Esus4 on guitar?

E, A and B. In the 0-2-2-2-0-0 shape the strings play E (low E string, open), B (A string), E (D string), A (G string), B (B string, open) and E (high E string, open), so E and B are doubled.

What's the easiest way to play Esus4 on guitar?

0-2-2-2-0-0, the shape at the top of this page. Open strings do part of the work, so no barre.

Is Esus4 a barre chord on guitar?

Not usually: 0-2-2-2-0-0 needs no barre. There are barre versions further up the neck, shown below it.

Which string does Esus4 start on?

In the 0-2-2-2-0-0 shape the lowest string you play is the low E string, open, which is E, the root.

Every shape above plays only E, A and B, checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.