Tools / Chords / B♭ suspended 4th

B♭ suspended 4th chord on ukulele (B♭sus4)

Also written B♭sus4, B♭sus or B♭ Suspended

Ukulele · B♭sus4/E♭ inversion · 3-3-1-1

B♭ suspended 4th is built from B♭, E♭, and F. Its default voicing uses a partial barre at the 1st fret, making it a solid intermediate grip.

B♭sus4/E♭ inversion · 3-3-1-13-3-1-1

Positions on the neck1 of 5

How it’s built

B♭1Root

E♭4Perfect 4th

F5Perfect 5th

Formula 1, 4, 5

Positions on the neck1 of 5

Inversions

The same three notes, with a different one in the bass.

Root positionB♭–E♭–FB♭sus4Bass B♭

First inversionE♭–F–B♭B♭sus4/E♭Bass E♭

Second inversionF–B♭–E♭B♭sus4/FBass F

Why it sounds like that

B♭ suspended 4th uses the formula 1, 4, 5. The perfect 4th between B♭ and E♭ replaces the major 3rd, creating an open, unresolved sound. Compare it to B♭ major, which has D instead of E♭.

What goes wrong with B♭ suspended 4th?

Letting the barre lift off the A string, which deadens the high F note.
Flattening the middle finger onto the C string, causing a buzz at the 3rd fret.
Strumming with the barre finger angled, which mutes the E string.

When to use it

B♭ suspended 4th works as a suspended colour in B♭ major progressions like I–IV–V–I: B♭ major–E♭ major–F major–B♭ major. It also fits the I–V–vi–IV loop with F major and G minor. Use it for folk, pop, and ballads where the 4th wants to resolve down to the major 3rd.

Changing to and from B♭ suspended 4th

Sliding the shape up one fret to the 2nd fret gives B suspended 4th; keep the barre and finger spacing intact.
From B♭ suspended 4th, move to C suspended 4th by shifting the whole grip up two frets to the 3rd fret.

Which voicing to use

The default B♭sus4/E♭ inversion puts E♭ in the bass, giving a grounded, slightly darker sound. For a brighter top, try the B♭sus4/F inversion at frets 3-5-6-6, which places F in the bass and lifts the voicing. The 10th fret position has B♭ in the bass and works well for high-register strumming.

How do you play a B♭ suspended 4th chord on ukulele?

B♭sus4/E♭ inversion · 3-3-1-1

Barre● On the diagram

B♭ suspended 4th is played at the 1st fret as 3 3 1 1: barre your index finger across fret 1, middle finger on the G string at fret 3 and ring finger on the C string at fret 3.

Tip — The index finger must barre the E and A strings cleanly at the 1st fret while the middle and ring fingers reach the 3rd fret on the G and C strings.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
4 (G)	3	2	B♭ (1)
3 (C)	3	3	E♭ (4)
2 (E)	1	1 (barre)	F (5)
1 (A)	1	1 (barre)	B♭ (1)

B♭sus4/F inversion · fret 3

Intermediate

B♭ suspended 4th is played at the 3rd fret as 3 5 6 6: index finger on the G string at fret 3, middle finger on the C string at fret 5, ring finger on the E string at fret 6 and pinky finger on the A string at fret 6.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
4 (G)	3	1	B♭ (1)
3 (C)	5	2	F (5)
2 (E)	6	3	B♭ (1)
1 (A)	6	4	E♭ (4)

B♭sus4/F inversion · fret 5

Intermediate

B♭ suspended 4th is played at the 5th fret as × 5 6 6: index finger on the C string at fret 5, middle finger on the E string at fret 6 and ring finger on the A string at fret 6. The G string stays muted.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
4 (G)	muted	—	—
3 (C)	5	1	F (5)
2 (E)	6	2	B♭ (1)
1 (A)	6	3	E♭ (4)

10th fret

Intermediate

B♭ suspended 4th is played at the 10th fret as 10 10 11 ×: index finger on the G string at fret 10, middle finger on the C string at fret 10 and ring finger on the E string at fret 11. The A string stays muted.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
4 (G)	10	1	F (5)
3 (C)	10	2	B♭ (1)
2 (E)	11	3	E♭ (4)
1 (A)	muted	—	—

B♭sus4/E♭ inversion · ×-3-1-1

Intermediate

B♭ suspended 4th is played at the 1st fret as × 3 1 1: ring finger on the C string at fret 3, index finger on the E string at fret 1 and middle finger on the A string at fret 1. The G string stays muted.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
4 (G)	muted	—	—
3 (C)	3	3	E♭ (4)
2 (E)	1	1	F (5)
1 (A)	1	2	B♭ (1)

Common questions

How is B♭ suspended 4th written?

B♭ suspended 4th is written B♭sus or B♭sus4. The ASCII spelling is Bb. It is also spelled A♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.

What is the difference between B♭ suspended 4th and B♭ major?

B♭ suspended 4th replaces the major 3rd (D) with a perfect 4th (E♭). This removes the major quality and creates a suspended, unresolved sound that typically resolves to B♭ major.

Why does B♭ suspended 4th sound unresolved?

The perfect 4th interval between B♭ and E♭ creates tension that wants to resolve down to the major 3rd. Without that resolution, the chord feels open and floating.

Which voicing to use

String

Fret

Finger

Note

4 (G)

B♭ (1)

3 (C)

E♭ (4)

2 (E)

1 (barre)

F (5)

1 (A)

1 (barre)

B♭ (1)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

4 (G)

B♭ (1)

3 (C)

F (5)

2 (E)

B♭ (1)

1 (A)

E♭ (4)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

4 (G)

muted

—

3 (C)

F (5)

2 (E)

B♭ (1)

1 (A)

E♭ (4)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

4 (G)

F (5)

3 (C)

B♭ (1)

2 (E)

E♭ (4)

1 (A)

muted

—

String

Fret

Finger

Note

4 (G)

muted

—

3 (C)

E♭ (4)

2 (E)

F (5)

1 (A)

B♭ (1)