# F Suspended 4th piano chord (Fsus4)

Fsus4 contains F, B♭ and C. The third replaced by the fourth. B♭ is a black key; F and C are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/suspended-4th/f/
- Entity: chord:sus4:f
- Notes: F B♭ C
- Formula: 1 4 5
- Intervals from root: P1, P4, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 5 2
- Also written: Fsus4, Fsus4, F suspended 4th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | F | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 4 | B♭ | Perfect fourth | 5 |
| 5 | C | Perfect fifth | 7 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on F, finger 3 on B♭, finger 5 on C. 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 | F | F3 B♭3 C4 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (Fsus4/B♭) | B♭ | B♭3 C4 F4 | 6/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| Second inversion (Fsus4/C) | C | C4 F4 B♭4 | 6/4 | 10 st, 138 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | F3 B♭3 C4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | B♭3 C4 F4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | C4 F4 B♭4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | F2 C3 B♭3 | 17 st, 234 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | F3 B♭3 | 5 st, 69 mm | subset | omits C |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| F7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | adds E♭ | 3 |
| F | 1 3 5 | B♭ becomes A | 2 |
| Fm | 1 ♭3 5 | B♭ becomes A♭ | 2 |
| Fsus2 | 1 2 5 | B♭ becomes G | 2 |
| Fmaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | B♭ becomes A, E | 2 |
| F7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | B♭ becomes A, E♭ | 2 |
| Fm7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | B♭ becomes A♭, E♭ | 2 |
| FmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | B♭ becomes A♭, E | 2 |
| F6 | 1 3 5 6 | B♭ becomes A, D | 2 |
| Fm6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | B♭ becomes A♭, D | 2 |
| Fadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | B♭ becomes A, G | 2 |
| Fdim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | B♭, C becomes A♭, C♭ | 1 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {5, 10, 0}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 5, 7]
- Normal order: [10, 0, 5]
- Prime form: (027)
- Forte number: 3-9
- Interval vector: <010020>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| F3 | 53 | 174.61 Hz |
| B♭3 | 58 | 233.08 Hz |
| C4 | 60 | 261.63 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Fsus4?

Fsus4 contains F, B♭ and C. The formula is 1, 4, 5.

### How do you play Fsus4 on piano?

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

### What are the inversions of Fsus4?

3 positions: root position F B♭ C, Fsus4/B♭, Fsus4/C.

### What is the difference between Fsus4 and F7sus4?

Adds E♭. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Fsus4 for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, F3 B♭3, spans 5 semitones or about 69 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Fsus4?

From F3 at A440 in 12-TET: 174.61, 233.08, 261.63 Hz.

### What is the set class of Fsus4?

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

### How do I transpose Fsus4 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:f
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12