My Chord Finder
Csus2
C3 (1) · D3 (2) · G3 (5) · D4 (2) · G4 (5)
C sus2 guitar chord
Csus2 is C, D and G — degrees 1, 2 and 5. C major is C, E and G, so the third E steps down a whole step to D.
Csus2
C3 (1) · D3 (2) · C4 (1) · D4 (2) · G4 (5)
Csus2
C3 (1) · G3 (5) · C4 (1) · D4 (2) · G4 (5)
Csus2 is C, D, G (1, 2, 5). C major is C, E, G: the third E is replaced by the second D. On the fretboard the third moves down a whole step, E to D.
× mute · ○ open · green root · terracotta other chord tones
Numbers show a suggested finger: 1 index · 2 middle · 3 ring · 4 pinky. A bar means one finger holds several strings.
See and hear Csus2 next to Csus4 and C
The tool starts on Csus2. Press Csus4 and the middle note becomes F; press C and the third E returns. Every diagram keeps its own fret numbers and its own written notes underneath.
Csus2 takes the E out of C
C major is C, E and G. Take the E down a whole step to D and the chord becomes Csus2: C, D and G, with the second sitting where the third was. Because the third is the note that decides major or minor, the chord sounds like neither.
The spelling varies more than the chord does. Guitar pages write c sus2 guitar or c sus2 chord, chord books write csus2 or c sus 2, and piano players search for c sus2 piano. All of them point at C, D and G. If you are holding a shape that sounds those three notes, you are playing Csus2 whatever the chart called it.
The open shape is X 3 0 0 3 3 with the low E string quiet: C on the fifth string, the open D and G strings, then D on the B string and G on the top string. That D is the chord tone Csus4 replaces: the fourth F takes its place in the chord.
The shapes and the Gsus4 coincidence
The open Csus2 is X 3 0 0 3 3: index on the third fret of the A string, the D and G strings open, middle on the third fret of the B string and ring on the third fret of the top string. When you move to the open Csus4 the B string drops to the first fret and plays C, so it is the string to watch while you practise the switch.
The other rows keep the C on the fifth string and move the upper notes. X 3 0 5 3 3 puts the second D on the third fret of the B string and a high C on the fifth fret of the G string. X 3 5 5 3 3 closes the chord with the fifth fret on the D and G strings and adds a high C. X 3 0 0 1 3 puts C on the first fret of the B string above the open G. Every row sounds C, D and G and nothing else.
There is a useful coincidence between this page and the G page. Gsus4 is 3 3 0 0 3 3 and Csus2 is the same fret numbers with the low E string left quiet: X 3 0 0 3 3. The G and the C swap jobs. Hold Gsus4 and lift the pick off the sixth string, and what is left is Csus2, with C as the lowest note instead of G.
| Shape | Frets (low E to high E) | Sounding notes with degrees |
|---|---|---|
| Open position | X 3 0 0 3 3 | C3 (1) · D3 (2) · G3 (5) · D4 (2) · G4 (5) |
| Open strings with frets 3 to 5 | X 3 0 5 3 3 | C3 (1) · D3 (2) · C4 (1) · D4 (2) · G4 (5) |
| No open strings, frets 3 to 5 | X 3 5 5 3 3 | C3 (1) · G3 (5) · C4 (1) · D4 (2) · G4 (5) |
| Open position | X 3 0 0 1 3 | C3 (1) · D3 (2) · G3 (5) · C4 (1) · G4 (5) |
Csus2 on the piano
The keys are C, D and G. Put the left hand on C and G, an octave apart if it is comfortable, and the right hand on D above them. The smaller interval, C to D, is the second that gives the chord its name; the larger one, C to G, is the fifth that holds it together.
Piano players often move the D above the G instead of squeezing it under, so the three notes are stacked C, G, D. Both orders use the same three keys, and neither one is more correct than the other; pick the one that leaves your hand relaxed.
Sounding notes of the keyboard voicing: C4 (1) · D4 (2) · G4 (5).
Keys to play, low to high: C4 D4 G4.
Where Csus2 turns up
The plainest use is C, Csus2, C inside one bar. C is X 3 2 0 1 0 and Csus2 is X 3 0 0 3 3, so the two shapes are not neighbours on the fretboard; players usually finger Csus2 as its own grip and change the whole hand. For a smaller version of the same move, keep the C shape, lift the finger off the D string and take the top string at the third fret: X 3 2 0 1 0 to X 3 0 0 1 3 is a two-note movement rather than a new grip.
Where Csus2 earns its place is in vamps that would otherwise be too settled: F, Csus2, C, or Am, Csus2, F. The D keeps the phrase pointing forward, and the C and G under it still say the key. It also works as a stand-in for Cadd9 when the melody already carries the E, because Cadd9 is C, E, G and D, and Csus2 is that chord with the third left out.
Questions people ask about Csus2
Is Csus2 the same as Cadd9?
No. Cadd9 is C, E, G and D: the major third stays and the D sits on top, so the chord still sounds major. Csus2 is C, D and G with no E at all, three notes instead of four. Play both and you will hear the Cadd9 settle where the Csus2 keeps moving.
How do you play Csus2?
Leave the low E string quiet and fret the third fret three times: index on the A string for C, middle on the B string for D and ring on the top string for G, with the D and G strings open. That is X 3 0 0 3 3. The shape covers C, D and G with the D and the G repeated, and the string to watch is the B string: Csus4 puts C there and moves the fourth F onto the D string instead.
Is Csus2 a C chord?
It is built on C, so it can take the place of C in most progressions, but it is not the same chord. Nothing in Csus2 says major: the E is gone. That is why the substitution works when the melody holds a D or a G, and sounds wrong when the tune needs the E.
Why is Csus2 the same frets as Gsus4?
Because the two chords hold the same three pitch classes with the root in a different place. Gsus4 is G, C and D and Csus2 is C, D and G. On the fretboard the shape 3 3 0 0 3 3 plays G, C, D, G, D, G; mute the sixth string and the chords become C, D, G, D, G, which is Csus2 with C at the bottom.
Where are the c sus2 piano notes?
In the piano section above: C, D and G, with the keys highlighted inside one octave and a Hear button that uses recorded piano samples. The guitar shapes and the piano keys agree note for note, because a sus2 chord is decided by its letters, not by the instrument.