# D Suspended 4th piano chord (Dsus4)

Dsus4 contains D, G and A. The third replaced by the fourth. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/suspended-4th/d/
- Entity: chord:sus4:d
- Notes: D G A
- Formula: 1 4 5
- Intervals from root: P1, P4, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 5 2
- Also written: Dsus4, Dsus4, D suspended 4th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | D | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 4 | G | Perfect fourth | 5 |
| 5 | A | Perfect fifth | 7 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on D, finger 3 on G, finger 5 on A. 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 | D | D3 G3 A3 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (Dsus4/G) | G | G3 A3 D4 | 6/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| Second inversion (Dsus4/A) | A | A3 D4 G4 | 6/4 | 10 st, 138 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | D3 G3 A3 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | G3 A3 D4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | A3 D4 G4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | D2 A2 G3 | 17 st, 234 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | D3 G3 | 5 st, 69 mm | subset | omits A |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| D7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | adds C | 3 |
| D | 1 3 5 | G becomes F♯ | 2 |
| Dm | 1 ♭3 5 | G becomes F | 2 |
| Dsus2 | 1 2 5 | G becomes E | 2 |
| Dmaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | G becomes F♯, C♯ | 2 |
| D7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | G becomes F♯, C | 2 |
| Dm7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | G becomes F, C | 2 |
| DmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | G becomes F, C♯ | 2 |
| D6 | 1 3 5 6 | G becomes F♯, B | 2 |
| Dm6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | G becomes F, B | 2 |
| Dadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | G becomes F♯, E | 2 |
| Ddim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | G, A becomes F, A♭ | 1 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {2, 7, 9}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 5, 7]
- Normal order: [7, 9, 2]
- Prime form: (027)
- Forte number: 3-9
- Interval vector: <010020>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D3 | 50 | 146.83 Hz |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| A3 | 57 | 220.00 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Dsus4?

Dsus4 contains D, G and A. The formula is 1, 4, 5.

### How do you play Dsus4 on piano?

Play D, G and A together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. Every note is a white key.

### What are the inversions of Dsus4?

3 positions: root position D G A, Dsus4/G, Dsus4/A.

### What is the difference between Dsus4 and D7sus4?

Adds C. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Dsus4 for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, D3 G3, spans 5 semitones or about 69 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Dsus4?

From D3 at A440 in 12-TET: 146.83, 196.00, 220.00 Hz.

### What is the set class of Dsus4?

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

### How do I transpose Dsus4 to another key?

Keep the 1, 4, 5 formula on the new root. Csus4 is C, F, G; C♯sus4 is C♯, F♯, 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:sus4:d
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12