xpex.
Under constructionxpex.ai is still under construction — we open officially this September–October.
Back to tools

Asus2 guitar chord

A sus2 is A, B and E. Below are the shapes up the neck, the note each string sounds, and the country, blues, and pop progressions Asus2 turns up in — press ▶ on any grid to hear it.

Root
Quality

Asus24 shapes up the neck

Open position
Root on the 5th (A) string
1A5E1A2B5E23
A shape
Open position
Root on the 5th (A) string
1A5E2B2B5E14
A shape
7th fret
Inversion — a chord tone other than the root in the bass
7fr2B5E1A5E1A2B111341
9th fret
Root on the 5th (A) string
9fr1A2B5E2B5E12

Where you'll hear Asus2

The chord in its usual company, already moved into your key. Asus2 is the highlighted one — it won't always be first, because some chords only ever pass through on the way somewhere else. Hit play to hear a line strummed at a tempo typical of the style, or turn on Repeat and let it loop while you play along.

Country120 bpm
Asus2Isus2DIVEV

Drop the 3rd to a 2nd and the chord rings instead of settling — country rhythm players do it constantly.

Pop104 bpm
Asus2Isus2EVF♯mviDIV

The four-chord loop with the 1 chord left open. Neither major nor minor, so it leans either way.

Only two styles here. Blues needs the 3rd, and a sus chord takes away the note the whole style is built on.

How to use the shapes

  • The number on a dot is that note's job in the chord: 1 is the root, 3 the third, 5 the fifth. A flat sign marks a lowered tone — the ♭3 is what makes a minor chord sound minor.
  • Major, minor, and 7th chords (dom 7, maj 7, min 7) show the five CAGED positions — the badge under each grid names the open chord the grip is borrowed from. One shape stays open; the other four are that grip moved up the neck. A few of the minor and 7th grips skip strings a full hand can't reach — the × marks show what to leave out.
  • Every other quality gets the same badge wherever the shape earns it: an E-shape sus4 and an A-shape 6th are the plain open grips with one note moved. Expect fewer than five — the C and G shapes run out of fingers once a chord carries a 6th or a 9th, and the richest voicings (9ths, 13ths) come from jazz grips no open chord gives rise to. Those are still worth learning; they just go unbadged rather than get a label they haven't earned.
  • The small greyed numbers under each grid are a suggested fingering — 1 is the index finger, 4 the little finger. They're only a suggestion, and they sit outside the grid on purpose: what a note is doing in the chord matters more than which finger presses it.
  • Press ▶ on any grid to hear that exact voicing strummed.
  • Learn the open position first, then the shape with the root on the 6th string, then the one rooted on the 5th — that trio covers most songs.
  • Shapes with no open strings are movable: slide the whole grip up or down and the root string tells you which note names the chord.
  • A long bar across the dots is a barre — one finger flattened over several strings.

Chords feel awkward at first? The Foundations path builds them up one finger at a time →

Chord voicings from the open-source chords-db project (MIT license).