# G Suspended 4th piano chord (Gsus4)

Gsus4 contains G, C and D. The third replaced by the fourth. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/suspended-4th/g/
- Entity: chord:sus4:g
- Notes: G C D
- Formula: 1 4 5
- Intervals from root: P1, P4, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 5 2
- Also written: Gsus4, Gsus4, G suspended 4th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

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

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on G, finger 3 on C, finger 5 on D. 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 | G | G3 C4 D4 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (Gsus4/C) | C | C4 D4 G4 | 6/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| Second inversion (Gsus4/D) | D | D4 G4 C5 | 6/4 | 10 st, 138 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | G3 C4 D4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | C4 D4 G4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | D4 G4 C5 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | G2 D3 C4 | 17 st, 234 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | G3 C4 | 5 st, 69 mm | subset | omits D |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| G7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | adds F | 3 |
| G | 1 3 5 | C becomes B | 2 |
| Gm | 1 ♭3 5 | C becomes B♭ | 2 |
| Gsus2 | 1 2 5 | C becomes A | 2 |
| Gmaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | C becomes B, F♯ | 2 |
| G7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | C becomes B, F | 2 |
| Gm7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | C becomes B♭, F | 2 |
| GmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | C becomes B♭, F♯ | 2 |
| G6 | 1 3 5 6 | C becomes B, E | 2 |
| Gm6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | C becomes B♭, E | 2 |
| Gadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | C becomes B, A | 2 |
| Gdim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | C, D becomes B♭, D♭ | 1 |

## Set theory

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

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| C4 | 60 | 261.63 Hz |
| D4 | 62 | 293.66 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Gsus4?

Gsus4 contains G, C and D. The formula is 1, 4, 5.

### How do you play Gsus4 on piano?

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

### What are the inversions of Gsus4?

3 positions: root position G C D, Gsus4/C, Gsus4/D.

### What is the difference between Gsus4 and G7sus4?

Adds F. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Gsus4 for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, G3 C4, spans 5 semitones or about 69 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Gsus4?

From G3 at A440 in 12-TET: 196.00, 261.63, 293.66 Hz.

### What is the set class of Gsus4?

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

### How do I transpose Gsus4 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:g
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12