F#sus2 Chord on Guitar
F#sus2 = F# – G# – C# (Root, Major 2nd, Perfect 5th)
F#sus2 takes the second-fret barre and removes the note that decides whether the chord is major or minor at all — the third — replacing it with the second, two frets below the root. What's left neither confirms nor denies a mood; it's the guitar equivalent of a question mark, and that harmonic vagueness is the entire point of a sus2 chord.
The notes sounding are F#-G#-C#, with the root doubled twice and the fifth once — root, major second, fifth. Because the third is gone, F#sus2 works equally well as a stand-in for F# major or the shadow of F# minor, which is exactly why folk and alt-rock guitarists reach for sus2 voicings when they want an open, ringing texture that doesn't commit too hard to either color. In F# major it functions as a softened I; in progressions that move between F# major and F# minor, F#sus2 makes a smooth harmonic hinge that belongs to both.
Fingerings
Barre (2nd fret)
How to Practice It
Start from the plain F# major barre and pull the ring finger back two frets from the D string's third down to the second, rather than thinking of it as a new shape from scratch. Because the sus2 lacks the third's stabilizing pull, listen for whether it actually sounds unresolved and open rather than accidentally landing on a different chord altogether — the ear should register ambiguity, not confusion. Try alternating F#sus2 into and out of F# major on adjacent strums to hear exactly what the third contributes when it's there.
Common Progressions
- F# – F#sus2 – F# (I embellished on either side by its own suspended color)
- F#sus2 – B – E (a floating intro color resolving into B major)
- F#sus2 – F#m – F#sus2 (using the shared notes as a hinge between major and minor F#)
- A – F#sus2 – D – E (vi-area color substitute in A major)
FAQ
- What note does F#sus2 remove compared to plain F# major?
- The major third (A#) is taken out entirely and replaced by the major second (G#), two frets below where the third used to sit on the D string.
- Does F#sus2 sound major or minor?
- Neither definitively — without a third, the chord doesn't carry the interval that decides major versus minor, which is why it has that characteristically open, unresolved ring rather than a clear emotional color.
- Is F#sus2 harder to fret than F# major?
- No, if anything it's slightly easier, since one fretted note (the third) is replaced by a note that, depending on the exact voicing, can sometimes be simplified further; the barre itself is unchanged.
- When would a guitarist choose F#sus2 over plain F#?
- Whenever an open, floating texture is wanted rather than a firmly major statement — folk, alt-rock, and acoustic arrangements often lean on sus2 voicings specifically to avoid sounding too resolved too early in a progression.
- Can F#sus2 be used as a bridge between F# major and F# minor?
- Yes — since it shares the root and fifth with both and simply omits the note that would distinguish them, it makes a natural-sounding passing chord when a progression moves from the major to the minor version of the same root.
F#sus2 on other instruments: F#sus2 on Piano, F#sus2 on Ukulele. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.