Suspended & power
D♯ suspended 2nd chord
Open and airy; the 2nd replaces the 3rd, so it is neither major nor minor.
- Notes
- D♯E♯A♯
- Formula
- 125
- Built from
- root · major 2nd · perfect 5th
How to play D♯sus2
About the D♯ suspended 2nd chord
Playing it
There’s no open-string way to play D♯sus2 on guitar with the root in the bass, so the standard shape is a barre across the 6th fret (x68866).
On piano, D♯sus2 has two black keys (D♯ and A♯) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual D♯sus2 shape is 3311, with a small 2-string barre at the 1st fret.
Related chords
D♯sus2 contains exactly the same notes as B♭sus4. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and D♯sus2 becomes a different chord: swap E♯ for F𝄪 for D♯, raise E♯ to F♯ for D♯m, swap E♯ for G♯ for D♯sus4 and add F𝄪 for D♯add9.
Where you’ll hear it
Notice the E♯ in D♯sus2 (D♯ E♯ A♯): each note of the chord takes its own letter (D–E–A), so the major 2nd has to be written E♯ rather than F — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
