CHORD REFERENCE

A7sus4

A – D – E – G1 4 5 b7

The A 7sus4 chord and everything around it — the notes and how they are built, the shape on piano and guitar, the sound, and the keys it belongs to.

Notes
A1D4E5Gb7

A7sus4 is A, D, E, G — the 1, 4, 5 and b7 above the root A.

Piano
ADEG
Guitar

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eEGADEBDEGAGGADEGDDEGADAADEGAEEGADE

Root notes are red. There is no standard open shape for this chord — any group of these notes on the neck sounds the chord.

Ukulele (standard G–C–E–A)

357912AADEGAEEGADECDEGAGGADEG

Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only A, D, E, G plays the chord.

In which keys

A7sus4 is a colour chord — it is not diatonic to a plain major or minor key, which is what gives it its character. It shows up as a borrowed chord, an altered dominant, or a passing sound.

Other A chords

Triads

AMajorAmMinorA5Power Chord (5)AdimDiminishedAaugAugmentedAsus2Suspended 2ndAsus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

A6Major 6thAm6Minor 6thA7Dominant 7thAmaj7Major 7thAm7Minor 7thAm(maj7)Minor–Major 7thAdim7Diminished 7thAm7♭5Half-Diminished (m7♭5)

Altered dominants

A7♭57♭5A7♯57♯5 (Augmented 7th)A7♭97♭9A7♯97♯9 (Hendrix Chord)

Extended & added

Aadd9Added 9thA6/96/9A9Dominant 9thAmaj9Major 9thAm9Minor 9thA11Dominant 11thA13Dominant 13th
7sus4 on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭D♯EFF♯G♭GA♭G♯AB♭A♯B
Keep exploring

Work out the chords of a whole key with the Scale & Chord Finder, name a chord from its notes with the Chord Identifier, or browse every chord tool. The theory behind how chords are built is in the free Cloud Atelier music guides.