Which strings do I strum for D suspended four?

4 strings, from the D string down to the thin e. Skip the thick E and A strings.

What notes are in a D suspended four chord?

D, G, A. The D is the root, the note the chord is named after. There is no third, so it is neither major nor minor.

What chords go with Dsus4?

Its neighbours on the circle of fifths, G and A, and its relative minor, Bm. Songs move between these because they share notes.

suspended fourth chord

D suspended four chord on guitar

D with the pinky added at fret 3 on the thin e. It pulls back to D like a held breath.

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Where the fingers go

1
index finger, G string, fret 2
Count from the thick string: E A D G.
2
ring finger, B string, fret 3
Count from the thick string: E A D G B.
3
pinky, thin e string, fret 3
The thinnest string, nearest the floor.
4
Leave the D string open
They ring without any finger. They are part of the chord.
5
Strum 4 strings, from the D string down
Skip the thick E and A. They would add a note that does not belong.

The same shape seen along the neck, thin e on top. Numbers are fingers; 0 is an open string.

The notes in Dsus4

A chord is three or four notes played together. D suspended four is built from these:

Note	Job in the chord	Where it is in this shape
D	root	D string, open; B string, fret 3
G	fourth	thin e string, fret 3
A	fifth	G string, fret 2

The root, D, is the note it is named after. There is no third in this chord, the note that would make it major or minor, which is why it sounds tense, it wants to fall back to the plain chord.

Where it sits on the circle of fifths

The circle of fifths lines up the twelve keys so that neighbours share the most notes. Chords next to each other on the circle sound good one after the other, which is why songs move between them.

G and A are Dsus4’s neighbours. Most songs in Dsus4 use one or both.
Bm is its relative minor: the same notes, a different home. Swapping between them changes the mood without changing your hand much.

The mistake everyone makes

Watch out

Taking the index finger off

The index stays on the G string. The pinky goes on top of the D shape, it does not replace anything.

Tip

Dsus4 to D

Lift the pinky and you land on D. That single move is in a thousand songs.

Songs that use it

Strumming songs in D. The pinky on, pinky off trick.

None of the songs on the site use Dsus4 yet. It is coming with the next batch.

Questions people ask

Which strings do I strum for D suspended four?: 4 strings, from the D string down to the thin e. Skip the thick E and A strings.
What notes are in a D suspended four chord?: D, G, A. The D is the root, the note the chord is named after. There is no third, so it is neither major nor minor.
What chords go with Dsus4?: Its neighbours on the circle of fifths, G and A, and its relative minor, Bm. Songs move between these because they share notes.