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Barre sus chords

Sus chords can be played as barre chords without any bigger efforts, provided that you have learned how to play barre chords. By starting with the standard barre shapes for major chords, you just need to make some smaller adjustment to get the sus chord.

Sus4

The diagram below shows the barre sus chord with the bass note on 6th string.


With the Esus4-shape

Concerning the finger positions: you either use all your fingers or lay your ring finger over three strings.

Diagrams

One effective practice that recommends are to shift from the regular barre A-shape to use the ring finger over the three strings in front. Exercise this by a chord progression like:

A - Asus4 - A (bar the fifth fret)

As an alternative shape to the one above, two fingers on the 3th an 4th strings can be used instead without any significant changes of the involved notes. Compare the following:

The diagram below shows the barre chord with the bass note on 5th string.


With the Asus4-shape

If you change from a regular barre chord to a sus chord in a progression all you need to do is to add the little finger. Exercise this by a chord progression like:

D - Dsus4 - D (bar the fifth fret)

Sus2

The only thing you need to do to get a sus2 chord from a barre chord with the A-shape is to release one finger (a sus2 barre chord with the root on the 6th string is not included since there are no good ways to play it).


With the A2-shape

The following chord progression includes both sus2 and sus4 and you could play exclusively with barre chords:

D#m - D#sus2 - D#m - G#m - C# - C#sus4 - F#

(The chord name D#msus2 doesn't exist).

Sus2 barre chords are common in pop punk arrangements. An example:

G - Csus2 - Dsus2

Sus chords are often used in alternations with major chords, like C - Csus4 - C. Read more about sus chords.

More chord groups:

B7sus4: X24252
Bmaj7sus2: X24322