# E Suspended 2nd piano chord (Esus2)

Esus2 contains E, F♯ and B. The third replaced by the second. F♯ is a black key; E and B are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/suspended-2nd/e/
- Entity: chord:sus2:e
- Notes: E F♯ B
- Formula: 1 2 5
- Intervals from root: P1, M2, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 2 5
- Also written: Esus2, Esus2, E suspended 2nd
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | E | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 2 | F♯ | Major second | 2 |
| 5 | B | Perfect fifth | 7 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on E, finger 3 on F♯, finger 5 on B. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | E | E3 F♯3 B3 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (Esus2/F♯) | F♯ | F♯3 B3 E4 | 6/3 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| Second inversion (Esus2/B) | B | B3 E4 F♯4 | 6/4 | 7 st, 96 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | E3 F♯3 B3 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | F♯3 B3 E4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | B3 E4 F♯4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | E2 B2 F♯3 | 14 st, 193 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | E3 F♯3 | 2 st, 28 mm | subset | omits B |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Eadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | adds G♯ | 3 |
| E | 1 3 5 | F♯ becomes G♯ | 2 |
| Em | 1 ♭3 5 | F♯ becomes G | 2 |
| Esus4 | 1 4 5 | F♯ becomes A | 2 |
| Emaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | F♯ becomes G♯, D♯ | 2 |
| E7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | F♯ becomes G♯, D | 2 |
| Em7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | F♯ becomes G, D | 2 |
| EmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | F♯ becomes G, D♯ | 2 |
| E7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | F♯ becomes A, D | 2 |
| E6 | 1 3 5 6 | F♯ becomes G♯, C♯ | 2 |
| Em6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | F♯ becomes G, C♯ | 2 |
| Edim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | F♯, B becomes G, B♭ | 1 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {4, 6, 11}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 2, 7]
- Normal order: [4, 6, 11]
- Prime form: (027)
- Forte number: 3-9
- Interval vector: <010020>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz |
| F♯3 | 54 | 185.00 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Esus2?

Esus2 contains E, F♯ and B. The formula is 1, 2, 5.

### How do you play Esus2 on piano?

Play E, F♯ and B together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. F♯ is a black key; E and B are white.

### What are the inversions of Esus2?

3 positions: root position E F♯ B, Esus2/F♯, Esus2/B.

### What is the difference between Esus2 and Eadd9?

Adds G♯. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Esus2 for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, E3 F♯3, spans 2 semitones or about 28 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Esus2?

From E3 at A440 in 12-TET: 164.81, 185.00, 246.94 Hz.

### What is the set class of Esus2?

Prime form (027), Forte 3-9, interval vector &lt;010020&gt;.

### How do I transpose Esus2 to another key?

Keep the 1, 2, 5 formula on the new root. Csus2 is C, D, G; C♯sus2 is C♯, D♯, G♯.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:sus2:e
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12