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The Csus2 chord

Wonderwall opens here. So does Don't Look Back in Anger. A chord that asks a question. The Csus2 (C - D - G) is a suspended second, which is why it sounds a quartal hover above the root. Writers pick it for an unresolved, hovering feel, and you can find it across arpeggiated guitar parts and floating ballad intros. On guitar the chord sits right under the fingers in open position; on piano it stacks straight up under the right hand. The page below covers the voicings worth memorising, the theory, the progressions where the Csus2 earns its keep, and the records that lean on it.

Hear the Csus2 in the chord builder →

Scale degrees Note names

Voicings for Csus2

Common ways to grip the Csus2 on guitar and piano. Guitar diagrams read low E to high E left-to-right; an × means muted, an open circle above the nut means an open string. Filled dots are fretted notes.

Guitar , full chord shapes

CAGED-derived voicings for Csus2 across the neck. Pick the shape closest to where your hand already sits.

Guitar: Asus2 shape at fr.3

Notes: C - D - G (chord tones)

Guitar: Esus2 shape at fr.8

Notes: C - D - G (chord tones)

Guitar: Dsus2 shape at fr.10

Notes: C - D - G (chord tones)

Guitar: top-4 voicing

Notes: C - D - G (chord tones)

Guitar: high top-4 voicing

Notes: C - D - G (chord tones)

Guitar , triad shapes

Three-note triad shapes on each string set, shown moving up the neck. Light textures for arpeggios, pop layering and chord-melody work.

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.3

Notes: top-string triad, fr.3

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.7

Notes: top-string triad, fr.7

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.10

Notes: top-string triad, fr.10

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · open

Notes: middle-string triad, open

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.3

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.3

Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.7

Notes: middle-string triad, fr.7

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · open

Notes: bass-side triad, open

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.3

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.3

Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.5

Notes: bass-side triad, fr.5

Piano voicings

Root position and inversions. The bass note matters: each inversion changes how the chord sits under a melody.

Piano: root position

Notes: C - D - G. Root C at the bottom. The classic stacked-thirds spelling of a suspended second.

Piano: first inversion

Notes: D - G - C. D at the bottom. Common in chord-melody, walking bass lines and gentler voicings.

Piano: second inversion

Notes: G - C - D. G at the bottom. A floating, suspended feel often used in hymns and ballads.

The theory behind Csus2

Csus2 is a suspended second built on C. Its three or four notes (C - D - G) sit a specific distance apart: root, major second, perfect fifth. That makes it a passing chord in the key of a closely related major key, and the same chord works as the passing chord in a closely related major key. The simplest rule of thumb: the Csus2 wants to resolve to its parent major or minor.

Progressions that use Csus2

Short progressions that put the Csus2 to work. Each one is shown in a different key so you can pick the one that suits your singer.

I→IV→V key of C major

Csus2 (as passing colour)

This chord appears as a borrowed or passing chord in many major-key progressions.

→ Build this in the chord builder

Songs that feature Csus2

Real records where this chord does structural work. No lyrics quoted, just the title and artist so you can pull up a copy and hear it in context.

Behind Blue Eyes by The Who. Csus2 colour in the verse harmony.
Wonderwall by Oasis. Csus2 inside the song's iconic chord shapes.
Don't Look Back in Anger by Oasis. Csus2 colour in the harmony.

Related chords

Chords a step away from the Csus2 in the songwriting circle, the natural neighbours when you want a substitution.

TriadC DomC7 Maj7Cmaj7 m7Cm7 NeighbourG NeighbourGm NeighbourG7 NeighbourF

Keys where Csus2 lives

The keys where this chord turns up diatonically. Open any key page for the full set of progressions that lean on it.

C major A minor

Related references

Other ways to put the Csus2 to work across the reference library.

Arpeggiooutline it with arpeggios

More songwriting tools

Got the chord but still wrestling with the lyric? Find the right rhyme in RhymeForge, or break a writer's block with the unexpected word-pair generator in CollisionLab. Need to map a full progression? The chord builder on the home page is where the Csus2 fits into context. All free, no signup.

About the chord builder

The Undercover Zest chord progression builder is a free interactive tool that maps every diatonic and borrowed chord in every key. Click a Roman numeral to hear it, drag chords into a progression, then audition voicings, inversions and tensions until the song clicks.

This page is a static reference for the Csus2. For interactive playback, voice-leading hints and substitution suggestions, open the chord builder above.