F#sus2 Piano Chord
F sharp sus2 is the F sharp suspended second chord. It has three notes: F sharp, G sharp and C sharp. All three are black keys.
F♯ at the bottom, then G♯ and C♯. Right hand 1-2-5, left hand 5-3-1. The black keys are F♯ and G♯ and C♯.
How to play F#sus2 on piano, step by step
- Start on the F♯ above middle C. That is the lowest note of the chord.
- Thumb (1): F♯
- Index finger (2): G♯
- Little finger (5): C♯
- Press them together with the right hand. The left hand plays the same notes with fingers 5, 3, 1 an octave lower, or just F♯ on its own as a bass note.
Like F sharp major, this chord uses only black keys, so it is one of the most comfortable shapes on the instrument once the hand sits deep enough.
Inversions of F#sus2
The same 3 notes with a different one at the bottom. All of them are F#sus2; which you play depends on what the hand is coming from. Tap any card to hear it.
If it sounds wrong
- A finger drops to a white key
- Nothing here is white. Play well into the keyboard, where all three keys are.
- You have played A sharp
- That is the third of F sharp major. A suspended chord replaces it, and here the replacement is G sharp.
- The notes sound uneven
- Black keys are narrower. Aim each fingertip at the centre of its key.
What makes it an F#sus2
F♯ · G♯ · C♯ 1 2 5
F sharp sus2 is F sharp, G sharp and C sharp: the root, the second and the fifth.
It belongs to the keys of F sharp, C sharp and B. Guitar based music in B uses it, which is where a pianist is most likely to meet it.
F#sus2 vs F#
Both are all black key chords, so the hand does not change depth at all: one finger simply slides from A sharp down to G sharp.
That makes this pair unusually easy to move between, and a good place to hear what suspending a chord actually does.
Questions about F#sus2
What does sus mean in F#sus2?
Suspended. The third of the chord is taken out and replaced by another note, so the chord is neither major nor minor. In F#sus2 the third is replaced by G sharp, the second.
Which notes are in a F#sus2 chord on piano?
F sharp, G sharp and C sharp.
What is the difference between F#sus2 and F sharpsus4?
Which note replaces the third. F#sus2 uses the second, one step above the root; F sharpsus4 uses the fourth, one step below the fifth. Sus2 sounds open and airy, sus4 sounds tense and wants to resolve.
Is F#sus2 major or minor?
Neither. The third is the note that decides, and a suspended chord does not have one. That is why it can sit in front of either F sharp major or F sharp minor.
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