How to Play Sustained Chords on Guitar

Sustained chords replace the third note with a major second or perfect fourth note.

A sustained chord is a common, but technically incorrect, name for suspended chord. This type of chord removes the third note from a chord and replaces it with either the major second or perfect fourth note. There are a few different ways to form these types of chords on a guitar. The most mobile form is the A sustained barre chord shape. This chord can be moved up and down the guitar neck to form any sustained chord with relative ease in comparison to most chord shapes.

Things You'll Need

• Guitar in standard tuning

Instructions

1. Hold down the 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 (A, D, G, B, e) strings on the guitar with your index finger. The tip of your finger should be pressing into the 6 (E) string. This will mute the 6 string, which is not usually used to play sustained chords.

2. Hold down the 4 string with your middle finger two frets above your index finger.

3. Hold down the 3 string with your ring finger two frets above your index finger. This will form the sustained barre chord shape with the major second in place of the third note. This is usually referred to as a sus2 or sustained second chord.

4. Hold down the 2 string with your pinky finger three frets above your index finger. This will change major second note with a perfect fourth note. This is usually referred to as a sus4 or sustained forth chord.

Tips & Warnings

• The root note for the barre chord is the note being held down on the 5 (A) string with the index finger. For example, if the index finger is on the fifth fret then it would be the D sustained chord. If the index finger is on the seventh fret then it would be the E sustained chord.

References

• "Hal Leonard Guitar Method: Complete Edition"; Greg Koch and Will Schmid; 2002