Fsus4 Chord on Ukulele
Fsus4 = F – A# – C (Root, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th)
F suspended fourth combines an open string with a small barre and one separate finger: the C string rings open for the fifth, a barre across the E and A strings at the first fret covers the root and a doubled fourth together, and the G string adds another statement of the fourth on its own at the third fret. It's a genuinely varied shape, mixing three different techniques — open string, barre, individual finger — in a single compact chord.
Swapping F major's third for the fourth scale degree gives Fsus4 the same forward-leaning, unresolved quality every sus4 chord carries, a half-step's distance from the third that keeps the ear expecting resolution. It's a natural pre-resolution flourish right before a phrase lands on plain F major, a strumming device borrowed from folk and rock guitar accompaniment that translates directly onto ukulele. Because the fourth is stated twice — once in the barre, once on the G string — this particular voicing leans into that suspended tension more insistently than a version that stated the note only once would.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
Set the E-A barre at the first fret first, since it covers two notes at once, then add the G string's third fret as a separate reach and let the open C string ring untouched throughout. Practicing the release into plain F major — reforming the barre and moving the G string's finger — clarifies which specific note carries the suspended color and which are shared between the two chords.
Common Progressions
- Bb - Fsus4 - F, letting the suspended fourth hang briefly before it drops into the tonic
- I(sus4) - I - IV - V (Fsus4 - F - Bb - C)
- IV - V - I(sus4) - I (Bb - C - Fsus4 - F)
- A repeated Fsus4-to-F alternation works as a simple rhythmic vamp.
FAQ
- Why does Fsus4 combine three different techniques in one chord?
- Its three notes simply happen to fall in three different physical arrangements on the GCEA strings — one open, one barred pair, and one individual finger — rather than any single technique covering all of them.
- How does Fsus4 resolve back to plain F major?
- The barre reforms and the G string's finger moves, while the open C string carries over unchanged throughout both chords.
- Why does the suspended fourth appear twice in this voicing?
- The G string and the barred E-A pair both happen to land on that same pitch class, an accident of where the note falls relative to those strings' open tunings.
- Is Fsus4 commonly used as a rhythmic embellishment?
- Yes — a quick anticipatory flourish right before a downbeat landing on plain F is a common strumming habit carried over from guitar accompaniment.
- Is there a way to play Fsus4 without the barre?
- Yes, using three separate fingers instead of barring the E and A strings, at the cost of a slightly more cramped hand position.
- What note does Fsus4 add compared to plain F major?
- Bb, the fourth scale degree, appearing on both the G string's third fret and the barred E-A pair's first fret.
- Would dropping the G string's third-fret note make Fsus4 easier without losing the chord's identity?
- Yes, in a pinch — since the barred E-A pair already supplies the suspended fourth once, letting the G string ring open instead trades a slightly less insistent tension for a genuinely simpler two-technique shape.
- Is Fsus4 more commonly heard as a rock or a folk device on ukulele?
- Both traditions use it, but the specific pre-beat suspension-into-downbeat pattern this chord favors traces back most directly to strummed folk and singer-songwriter guitar accompaniment that ukulele arrangers adopted wholesale.
- How many of Fsus4's four fretted points are actually independent pitches?
- Just two distinct notes — the root and the doubled fourth — spread across three fretted contacts and one open string, since the barre restates the fourth a second time rather than adding anything new.
Fsus4 on other instruments: Fsus4 on Guitar, Fsus4 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.