Chords » A 7th Suspended Fourth

Symbols:A7sus, A7sus4, A9sus4, A9sus
Scale Degree Formula:1-4-5-♭7
Interval Stack:P4 + M2 + m3
Notes:A, D, E, G
Hear this chord:▸ Guitar
Inversions:A7sus/D, A7sus/E, A7sus/G

Construction

Using the scale degree formula, we first start with the A major scale, and number each note in the scale starting from 1 - these are the scale degrees. Next, we use the scale degree formula, in this case 1-4-5-♭7, to select notes from our enumerated scale. When a chord requires notes that are not in the scale, this is indicated with a flat (♭) or a sharp (#) along with the scale degree; a ♭3, for instance, would be one half-step down from the 3rd scale degree.
Alternatively, we can use the interval stack to construct our chord. With this approach, we first start with the lowest note of the chord (A), then move our first interval (P4), which brings us to our second note in the chord (D). We repeatedly apply each of the remaining intervals in the stack to get the full list of notes for our chord.
The diagram below shows how both the scale degree formula and interval stack methods result in the same selection of notes:
A1Bb♭2B2C♭3C#3D4D#♭5E5F#5F#6G♭7P4M2m3

Similar Chords

The following chords are similar to this chord and may be a suitable replacement in certain scenarios.

Chord TypeChords
7th Suspended Four Flat 9thA7sus4b9
7th Suspended SecondG7sus2, D7sus2, A7sus2
Added 9thGadd9, Dadd9, Cadd9
Dominant 7thA7
Half-Diminished 7thEm7(b5)
Major 2ndG2, D2, C2
Major 6thGM6, CM6
Major 7th Flat FifthD#Maj7b5, BbMaj7b5
Major Added 11thDadd11, Aadd11
Minor 2ndGm2, Dm2
Minor 6thGm6
Minor 7thEm7, Am7
Minor Added 11thEmadd11, Dmadd11, Amadd11
Minor Added 9thGmadd9, Dmadd9
Minor Six-NineGm6/9
Six-NineG6/9, C6/9
Suspended FourthDsus, Asus
Suspended SecondGsus2, Dsus2

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
BluesE, A
Blues MajorG, D
Blues MinorE, B
DorianG, E, D, A
Dorian b5E
Harmonic MajorD
Harmonic MinorD
Ionian #5F
LocrianF#, E, C#, B
Locrian bb7C#
Locrian ♮6E
LydianG, F, C, Bb
Lydian #9Bb
Lydian Augmented #2Bb
Lydian b3G
MajorG, F, D, C
Major PentatonicG, C
MinorE, D, B, A
Minor PentatonicE, A
MixolydianG, D, C, A
Mixolydian b2A
PhrygianF#, E, B, A
Phrygian DominantA
Phrygian b4F#
Super-Locrian bb7C#
SuspendedD, A
Ukrainian DorianG

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