C Suspended 4th Chord on Piano
The C Suspended 4th chord is made of 3 notes — C4 F4 G4. Play it right here in your browser: no install, no sign-up.
What notes are in the C Suspended 4th chord?
The C Suspended 4th chord is built from C4 F4 G4. By scale degrees that is 1 · 4 · 5 — in other words root · perfect 4th · perfect 5th (0 · 5 · 7 semitones above the root C). The root of the chord is C, and the other tones are stacked above it in thirds.
What gives the C Suspended 4th chord its sound?
A suspended 4th chord, written sus4, holds a gentle tension. It swaps the third of a chord for a note five semitones above the root — the 4th scale degree — which sits just a semitone above where the major third would be. That closeness makes the ear want the 4th to ease down into the 3rd, so a sus4 always feels as though it is reaching toward a major chord.
Sus4 chords are the sound of hymns, anthems and the famous 'Amen' cadence, and they give rock songs their yearning, suspended quality before a big resolution. They hold your attention without ever sounding dissonant. Play C sus4 here, let it linger, then resolve to C major — the 4th falling to the 3rd is one of the most natural moves in all of music.
Everything here is ready to play in your browser, with no install and no sign-up. The highlighted keys above show exactly where the C Suspended 4th chord sits on this keyboard, and Play notes sounds the whole chord at once so you can hear it before you learn it. Carry it over to the online piano and you can play the chord on any of seven real instruments — try it on the Piano, then on the Rhodes or Music Box to hear how the same notes change character — shift it into any key with the Octave and Transpose controls, or hold Space to let it ring like a sustained piano chord.
Chords rarely sound their best in isolation. To put the C Suspended 4th chord to work, browse the complete set of piano chords for every root and quality, look at the scales that share these notes, or drop the chord into a real piece from the easy piano songs, where each song has its own playable keyboard. You can also record your own version: use the online piano recorder to capture a short progression built around this chord and download it as an MP3 to keep.
If you are just starting out, the simplest way to learn any chord is to play it slowly, name each note out loud, and then play it in a few different octaves with the Octave control. Once your fingers know the shape, practice switching between this chord and its nearest relative — the one a fifth above or below — until the move feels automatic. That single habit builds the muscle memory behind almost every song you will ever play.
Play the C Suspended 4th chord
The highlighted keys below are C4 F4 G4. Click them, press Play notes to hear the whole chord, or use your computer keyboard.
On this site's default keyboard layout, those notes are at C4 = M, F4 = E, G4 = R.
Chord inversions
In root position, play the tones from lowest to highest: C4 F4 G4.
First inversion: F4 G4 C5 — on the default layout at F4 = E, G4 = R, C5 = U.
Second inversion: G4 C5 F5 — on the default layout at G4 = R, C5 = U, F5 = P.
Related chords & scales
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in the C Suspended 4th chord?
The C Suspended 4th chord is built from the notes C4, F4, G4. The root is C, and the other tones are root · perfect 4th · perfect 5th.
How do I play the C Suspended 4th chord?
The chord tones are C4, F4, G4. On this site's default keyboard layout, press the highlighted keys shown above, or click Play notes to hear the full chord.
How is a piano chord built?
Most piano chords are built by stacking notes a third apart, starting from a root. A basic triad adds a third and a fifth above the root; stacking more thirds on top creates 7th chords and beyond. The exact quality of each interval — major, minor, diminished or augmented — is what gives each chord its colour.
What is the Suspended 4th chord used for?
The Suspended 4th chord has the distinct character described in the section above. In practice it appears wherever that mood is needed — as a resting place, a moment of tension, or a colourful passing chord — and it pairs naturally with the chords listed in the progressions and related sections on this page.