# E Suspended 4th piano chord (Esus4)

Esus4 contains E, A and B. The third replaced by the fourth. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/suspended-4th/e/
- Entity: chord:sus4:e
- Notes: E A B
- Formula: 1 4 5
- Intervals from root: P1, P4, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 5 2
- Also written: Esus4, Esus4, E suspended 4th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

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

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on E, finger 3 on A, 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 A3 B3 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (Esus4/A) | A | A3 B3 E4 | 6/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| Second inversion (Esus4/B) | B | B3 E4 A4 | 6/4 | 10 st, 138 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | E3 A3 B3 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | A3 B3 E4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | B3 E4 A4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | E2 B2 A3 | 17 st, 234 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | E3 A3 | 5 st, 69 mm | subset | omits B |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| E7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | adds D | 3 |
| E | 1 3 5 | A becomes G♯ | 2 |
| Em | 1 ♭3 5 | A becomes G | 2 |
| Esus2 | 1 2 5 | A becomes F♯ | 2 |
| Emaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | A becomes G♯, D♯ | 2 |
| E7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | A becomes G♯, D | 2 |
| Em7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | A becomes G, D | 2 |
| EmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | A becomes G, D♯ | 2 |
| E6 | 1 3 5 6 | A becomes G♯, C♯ | 2 |
| Em6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | A becomes G, C♯ | 2 |
| Eadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | A becomes G♯, F♯ | 2 |
| Edim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | A, B becomes G, B♭ | 1 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {4, 9, 11}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 5, 7]
- Normal order: [9, 11, 4]
- Prime form: (027)
- Forte number: 3-9
- Interval vector: <010020>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz |
| A3 | 57 | 220.00 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Esus4?

Esus4 contains E, A and B. The formula is 1, 4, 5.

### How do you play Esus4 on piano?

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

### What are the inversions of Esus4?

3 positions: root position E A B, Esus4/A, Esus4/B.

### What is the difference between Esus4 and E7sus4?

Adds D. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Esus4 for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, E3 A3, spans 5 semitones or about 69 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Esus4?

From E3 at A440 in 12-TET: 164.81, 220.00, 246.94 Hz.

### What is the set class of Esus4?

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

### How do I transpose Esus4 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:e
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12