What notes are in the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord?

The G Major ninth suspended fourth chord contains the notes G · C · D · F# · A: the root G with the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7M, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally G, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord?

Measured from G, the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7M, 9M. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

How do I play the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord?

On guitar the most common G Major ninth suspended fourth shape is 300012, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play G3 · C4 · D4 · F#4 · A4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.

G Major Ninth Suspended Fourth Chord (Gmaj9sus4)

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	G3 · C4 · D4 · F#4 · A4
Open (drop 2)	F#3 · G3 · C4 · D4 · A4
Shell	G3 · C4 · F#4
Rootless	C3 · F#3 · A3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

G Major ninth suspended fourth (Gmaj9sus4) contains the notes G · C · D · F# · A, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions

Inversions

An inversion of G Major ninth suspended fourth puts a chord tone other than G in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales G Major ninth suspended fourth belongs to.

In which keys

G Major ninth suspended fourth is diatonic to 3 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

G majorImaj9sus4Tonic
E minorIIImaj9sus4Tonic
G minorImaj9sus4Tonic

Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.

Scales that contain it

G Major ninth suspended fourth fits inside these scales, each built on G.

G MajorG · A · B · C · D · E · F#
G Melodic MinorG · A · Bb · C · D · E · F#
G Harmonic MinorG · A · Bb · C · D · Eb · F#
G Harmonic MajorG · A · B · C · D · Eb · F#
G Minor HexatonicG · A · Bb · C · D · F#
G BebopG · A · B · C · D · E · F · F#
G Messiaen's Mode #4G · Ab · A · C · C# · D · Eb · F#
G Bebop MajorG · A · B · C · D · D# · E · F#

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with G Major ninth suspended fourth: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Gmaj7sus4G · C · D · F#
Gsus24G · A · C · D
Gsus4G · C · D
Gsus2G · A · D
G5G · D

Major ninth suspended fourth on every root

Cmaj9sus4 C#maj9sus4 Dbmaj9sus4 Dmaj9sus4 Ebmaj9sus4 Emaj9sus4 Fmaj9sus4 F#maj9sus4 Gbmaj9sus4 Abmaj9sus4 Amaj9sus4 Bbmaj9sus4 Bmaj9sus4

Open it in a tool

Understanding the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord

Names and symbols

Gmaj9sus4 is the chord symbol for G Major ninth suspended fourth; it is also written GM9sus4.

sus on its own means sus4, and 7sus means 7sus4. sus2 is sometimes written add9(no3), which names the same notes from another angle.

Common questions

What notes are in the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord?: The G Major ninth suspended fourth chord contains the notes G · C · D · F# · A: the root G with the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7M, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally G, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord?: Measured from G, the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7M, 9M. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.
How do I play the G Major ninth suspended fourth chord?: On guitar the most common G Major ninth suspended fourth shape is 300012, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play G3 · C4 · D4 · F#4 · A4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.