How to play the D Suspended 4th chord on guitar
Dsus4 adds tension above D rather than below it, and the standard move is to hammer onto it and pull straight back. That one-finger decoration is behind an enormous number of acoustic intros.
D Suspended 4th swaps the third for the fourth, giving D, G, A. That suspension builds tension that resolves when you drop back to the plain D chord.
Finger it one string at a time
- low E string: don't play it.
- A string: don't play it.
- D string: play it open.
- G string: fret 2 with your index finger.
- B string: fret 3 with your ring finger.
- high E string: fret 3 with your pinky.
Add your pinky to the 3rd fret of the high E string on a standard D chord.
What makes this shape awkward
- 2 strings stay silent, so your strumming hand has to start on the right string. Aim the pick rather than sweeping all six.
Hear it and check yourself
Reading a diagram only gets you so far — the part that decides whether Dsus4 sounds right is whether every string rings cleanly. RiffRoute plays the chord back, listens while you strum it, and tells you which string is buzzing.