Suspended & power
G♭ suspended 4th chord
Hanging tension that usually resolves to a major or minor chord.
- Notes
- G♭C♭D♭
- Formula
- 145
- Built from
- root · perfect 4th · perfect 5th
How to play G♭sus4
About the G♭ suspended 4th chord
Playing it
On guitar, G♭sus4 is most often played as a barre chord across the 2nd fret (224422). While you build strength, you can play just the top four strings of the same shape (xx4422).
On piano, G♭sus4 has two black keys (G♭ and D♭) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual G♭sus4 shape is 4122, using four fingers.
Related chords
G♭sus4 contains exactly the same notes as Bsus2. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and G♭sus4 becomes a different chord: lower C♭ to B♭ for G♭, swap C♭ for B𝄫 for G♭m, swap C♭ for A♭ for G♭sus2 and add F♭ for G♭7sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
Notice the C♭ in G♭sus4 (G♭ C♭ D♭): each note of the chord takes its own letter (G–C–D), so the perfect 4th has to be written C♭ rather than B — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
