Chords › B♭ sus4

B Flat sus4 Chord on Guitar

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A-shape barre

B flat sus4, written B♭sus4, is a suspended chord: the fourth replaces the third, so it sounds unresolved until the third comes back. B♭sus4 has no open shape, so it is usually played as an A-shape barre chord at the 1st fret.

How to play B♭sus4, finger by finger

  1. Lay your index finger flat across strings 5 to 1 at the 1st fret.
  2. Put your middle finger on string 4 at the 3rd fret.
  3. Put your ring finger on string 3 at the 3rd fret.
  4. Put your pinky finger on string 2 at the 4th fret.
  5. Strum from string 5 down to string 1, and don't play string 6.

More ways to play B♭sus4

6fr12341
E-shape barre from fret 6
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Movable near the nut
3fr3412
Movable, fret 3 from fret 3
6fr3412
Movable, fret 6 from fret 6
8fr1234
Movable, fret 8 from fret 8
10fr3412
Movable, fret 10 from fret 10
11fr2314
Movable, fret 11 from fret 11
13fr1243
Movable, fret 13 from fret 13

Notes in B♭ sus4

NoteIntervalRole
B♭1root
E♭4fourth
F5fifth

Formula: 1 – 4 – 5

Questions about B♭sus4

What notes are in B♭sus4?

B♭, E♭ and F. Those are the 1, 4, 5 of the chord, counted from B♭.

Which strings do I strum for B♭sus4?

Start on string 5 and strum down to string 1.

Is B♭sus4 the same as A♯sus4?

Yes, on guitar they are played the same way and sound the same. B flat and A sharp are two names for one note: songs in sharp keys write A♯, songs in flat keys write B♭.

What chord does B♭sus4 lead to?

Most often B♭. The fourth wants to move to the third, which turns B♭sus4 into B♭.

Often played with B♭sus4

Other sus4 chords