G#sus4 Chord on Ukulele
G#sus4 = G# – C# – D# (Root, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th)
G#sus4 replaces the third with C#, a perfect fourth above the root, giving the chord a taut, expectant quality that almost always wants to resolve. The shape frets the G string at the first, the C string at the third, and barres the E and A strings together at the fourth, putting three points of contact to work across a compact three-fret span.
Sus4 chords are the strumming ukulele's favorite ornament, and the classic move of hammering a sus4 into its plain major chord — G#sus4 resolving into G# major by releasing the barring finger — works here the same way it does for F#sus4 a half step below, though built from an entirely different set of notes and requiring a two-string barre rather than a single fretted note to make the release clean. Used this way, G#sus4 rarely functions as a destination chord in its own right; it's almost always a brief detour resolving within the same beat or two, most often inside B major or E major passages that touch briefly on the bIII region. That resolving tension gives it a very different role from sus2's more static ambiguity — sus4 actively wants to move, where sus2 is content to hang.
Fingerings
Closed Position
How to Practice It
The two-string barre at the fourth fret needs to lift cleanly the instant the chord resolves to G# major, so practice the hammer-on-and-release motion as a single gesture: fret G#sus4, then lift just the barring finger while the other two fingers stay put, landing on plain G# major without re-fretting anything else. Getting that release timed to the beat is the real skill here, more than the initial fretting. Once the sus4-to-major move is smooth, try it as a strumming pattern ornament — sus4 on the upbeat, resolving to the major chord right on the downbeat — which is how the shape is used in practice far more often than as a held, standalone chord.
Common Progressions
- G#sus4 resolving to G# major as a hammer-on rhythmic ornament
- bIII(sus4) – bIII, a passing ornament inside a B major progression
- G#sus4 – G# – C#m, decorating a move toward the relative minor
- V(sus4) – V – I, decorating the dominant before a cadence in C# minor
FAQ
- What gives G#sus4 its unresolved, waiting quality?
- The third (B#, or C) is displaced by C#, a perfect fourth above the root, and that fourth sits close enough to the major third it replaced that the ear keeps expecting it to settle there.
- How is G#sus4 typically played in a strum pattern?
- As a quick hammer-on into G# major rather than a chord held on its own — lift the barring finger off the E and A strings and the chord resolves instantly to the plain major triad.
- Is G#sus4 harder to finger than G#sus2?
- Roughly similar — both need a mix of individual fingers and a barre-like element within the same three-fret span, so most players find the two comparably manageable once either one is learned.
- Why does sus4 feel like it needs to resolve while sus2 doesn't?
- The fourth sits a half step above the major third it displaced, creating audible tension the ear expects to settle, while the second sits further away and reads as more neutral and open rather than unresolved.
G#sus4 on other instruments: G#sus4 on Guitar, G#sus4 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.