A7sus4 Chord on Guitar
A7sus4 = A – D – E – G (Root, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th)
A7sus4 combines a dominant seventh with a suspended fourth, producing a lean, punchy chord that's a staple of gospel, funk, and rock rhythm playing. At the fifth-fret barre it's one of the sparser shapes in this set, since both the third and fifth are typically left out of the practical voicing.
The full chord is A, D, E, G — root, fourth, fifth, flat seventh, with the third replaced entirely by the fourth. That combination gives A7sus4 a distinctive open-yet-driving quality: it has the flat seventh's dominant pull but none of the third's major-or-minor commitment, which is exactly why it's so effective as a rhythmic vamp chord in styles that favor percussive, harmonically ambiguous strumming. It very commonly resolves down into plain A7, the fourth falling to the third in a classic sus-to-dominant cadential move.
Fingerings
Barre (5th fret)
How to Practice It
The A7sus4-to-A7 resolution is worth practicing as a single rhythmic gesture, the same way Asus4-to-A is — in real playing it's almost always one quick motion rather than two deliberate chord changes. Because this voicing is lean, it's also a good chord for building right-hand rhythmic patterns, since the reduced note count lets the strumming attack come through clearly.
Common Progressions
- A7sus4 – A7 – D (V7sus4 – V7 – I, a classic gospel-style resolution)
- D7sus4 – D7 – A7sus4 – A7 (pairing the same move on IV and V)
- A7sus4 – A7 (a tight, repeated vamp figure)
- A7sus4 – D – A7sus4 – D (a funk-leaning static groove)
FAQ
- What notes are in A7sus4?
- A, D, E, and G — root, fourth, fifth, and flat seventh — with the third left out entirely, which is what gives the chord its suspended, harmonically ambiguous character.
- How does A7sus4 typically resolve?
- Most often down into plain A7, with the suspended fourth falling a half step to the major third — a classic cadential move heard constantly in gospel and gospel-influenced rock and funk.
- Why is A7sus4 popular in funk and gospel guitar playing?
- Its lean, third-less voicing gives it a punchy, rhythmically percussive quality that sits well in tight, groove-driven arrangements where a fuller, more harmonically definite chord would feel heavier than needed.
- Is A7sus4 the same as A11?
- They're closely related and often share a very similar practical guitar voicing, but A11 theoretically implies a fuller extended stack (including the ninth) while 7sus4 is specifically defined by the fourth replacing the third — in practice the two chords can sound nearly identical on guitar.
- Is A7sus4 harder to finger than plain A7?
- No, generally about the same or slightly easier, since it's a comparably lean shape built from the same fifth-fret barre position.
- Does A7sus4 ever appear without resolving to A7?
- Yes — in funk and groove-based styles it's common to vamp on A7sus4 for extended stretches without ever resolving it, treating the suspension itself as the target sound rather than a step toward something else.
- Why does A7sus4 sound different from Asus4?
- A7sus4 adds the flat seventh (G) on top of the plain suspended triad, giving it a more dominant, forward-leaning character than Asus4, which stays closer to a simple, unresolved suspension without that extra push toward resolution.
Related: how chords are built, chord finder.