Bbsus2 Ukulele Chord

How to play Bbsus2 on ukulele, step by step

1. Index finger: 1st fret, E string
2. Middle finger: 1st fret, A string
3. Ring finger: 3rd fret, G string
4. Leave the C string open. Strum all four strings.

Play B♭, lift the C string finger to hear Bbsus2, then put it back. That lift and return is the classic sus move, and here it doubles as a rest for the hand in a song full of B♭.

If it will not ring

The open C string is muted

It sits between two fretted strings, so a leaning finger kills it easily. Arch the ring finger on the G string until the C rings clear.

The 1st fret notes buzz

Index and middle share the 1st fret on the E and A strings. Keep both tips right behind the fret wire; the 1st fret is the stiffest spot on the neck.

It still sounds like Bb

If the D creeps in you are still fretting the C string. The whole point of this shape is that string ringing open on C, the suspended note.

What makes it a Bbsus2

B♭ · C · F | 1 2 5

Bbsus2 replaces the third of the B flat chord, D, with C. That leaves a root, a whole step and a fifth: no major or minor identity, just a hang that resolves when the C moves. Usually it steps back up to D for B♭ major.

The same three notes read from F spell Fsus4, the sus4 twin every sus2 chord has a fifth up. B♭ lives in the flat keys, F, B♭ and E♭, so this chord turns up in songs brought over from horn and piano arrangements. In sharp spelling it is A#sus2, a name you will mostly meet in chord apps.

Bbsus2 vs Bbsus4

Bbsus2 fills the gap left by the missing D with C, a whole step over the root; Bbsus4 fills it with E♭, a fourth over it. One approaches the absent third from below, the other from above.

In use, the sus4 makes a tense lead-in that wants B♭ straight away, while the sus2 is the open, airy version that can carry a bar on its own. On ukulele the sus2 is also simply easier: it is the B♭ barre with one finger lifted.