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C ninth suspended fourth (C9sus4) chord on guitar

Notes
CFGB♭D
Formula
145♭79

How to play C9sus4 on guitar

  1. Shape 1 · fret 3 · barre

    C9sus4 chord on guitar, shape 1: barre at fret 3, notes C, F, G, Bb, D

  2. Shape 2 · 1st position · barre

    no 5th (G)

    C9sus4 chord on guitar, shape 2: barre at fret 1, notes C, F, Bb, D

  3. Shape 3 · fret 8 · barre

    C9sus4 chord on guitar, shape 3: barre at fret 8, notes C, F, G, Bb, D

  4. Shape 4 · fret 5 · barre

    C9sus4 chord on guitar, shape 4: barre at fret 5, notes C, F, G, Bb, D

  5. Shape 5 · fret 10

    no 5th (G)

    C9sus4 chord on guitar, shape 5: from fret 10, notes C, F, Bb, D

Some shapes leave out: 5th (G). The caption of each one says what is missing. The 5th is the first to go: it barely changes the sound of the chord.

Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. x = do not play the string, o = open string. The coloured dot is the root (C). The same shapes work on acoustic, classical and electric guitar.

C9sus4 inversions on guitar

The same C9sus4 with another chord note in the bass (the lowest note that sounds). The notes stay the same, but the colour changes, and the bass line can move by step from one chord to the next. In a chord symbol, the bass comes after the slash.

  1. 5th (G) in the bass2nd inversion · C9sus4/G

    C ninth suspended fourth, C9sus4/G, 310011C9sus4/G4123GB♭DGCFmetronotuner.com

  2. 5th (G) in the bass2nd inversion · C9sus4/G

    C ninth suspended fourth, C9sus4/G, 333333C9sus4/G11GCFB♭DGmetronotuner.com

  3. 7th (B♭) in the bass3rd inversion · C9sus4/Bb

    C ninth suspended fourth, C9sus4/Bb, x10011C9sus4/B♭123B♭DGCFmetronotuner.com

  4. 7th (B♭) in the bass3rd inversion · C9sus4/Bb

    C ninth suspended fourth, C9sus4/Bb, 633333C9sus4/B♭341B♭CFB♭DGmetronotuner.com

About the ninth suspended fourth chord

A suspended dominant with a ninth: the 4th in place of the 3rd and the 9th on top. Soft and ambiguous, it is one of the most used sounds of modern jazz, soul and gospel. It has the same notes as an eleventh chord played without the 3rd; without the 5th, it is the triad on the ♭7 over the root (B♭/C for C9sus4).

Notes and intervals of C9sus4

C9sus4 (C ninth suspended fourth) is built from 5 notes. Each one fills a degree of the chord:

  • C · 1 · root
  • F · 4 · perfect fourth
  • G · 5 · perfect fifth
  • B♭ · ♭7 · minor seventh
  • D · 9 · ninth

Other C chords

Ninth suspended fourth: other roots

Frequently asked questions

How do you play the C9sus4 chord on guitar?

C9sus4 (C ninth suspended fourth) has 5 fingerings on this page, from easiest to hardest. Each diagram shows the fingers, the open strings (o) and the strings you do not play (x), and you can hear every shape.

What notes are in C9sus4?

The notes of C9sus4 are C, F, G, B♭, D. The formula is 1 · 4 · 5 · ♭7 · 9: root, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, minor seventh, ninth.

What does C9sus4 mean?

C9sus4 is the chord symbol for C ninth suspended fourth. A suspended dominant with a ninth: the 4th in place of the 3rd and the 9th on top. Soft and ambiguous, it is one of the most used sounds of modern jazz, soul and gospel. It has the same notes as an eleventh chord played without the 3rd; without the 5th, it is the triad on the ♭7 over the root (B♭/C for C9sus4).

C9sus4 on other instruments

All guitar chords