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D♭ sus2 chord (D♭sus2)

D♭ sus2 is a 3-note sus2 chord: D♭ – E♭ – A♭. It sounds open and ambiguous: neither major nor minor. Here it is on guitar, piano and ukulele, with fingering and audio. Also called C♯ sus2 (C♯sus2).

  • NotesD♭ – E♭ – A♭
  • Formula1 – 2 – 5
  • SymbolD♭sus2 · D♭2
  • EnharmonicC♯ sus2 (C♯sus2)

D♭ sus2 on guitar

  • 4×13411D♭A♭D♭E♭A♭
    Barre at fret 4 (A shape)

How to place your fingers (barre at fret 4)

  1. Barre fret 4 with your index finger, from the 5th to the 1st string.
  2. Finger 3 (ring) on fret 6 of the 4th string (D).
  3. Finger 4 (pinky) on fret 6 of the 3rd string (G).
  4. Do not play the 6th string: strum from the 5th.

The numbers inside the dots are the fingers of your left hand: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring and 4 pinky. The colored dots mark the root (D♭).

D♭ sus2 on piano

D♭E♭A♭

In root position, play D♭ – E♭ – A♭ from bottom to top with fingers 1, 3 and 5 of your right hand (thumb, middle and pinky). With your left hand you usually play just the root (D♭) or the root and the fifth.

Inversions

  • First inversion: E♭ – A♭ – D♭
  • Second inversion: A♭ – D♭ – E♭

D♭ sus2 on ukulele

  • A♭E♭A♭D♭
    From fret 1
  • 6D♭A♭D♭E♭
    From fret 6

Standard tuning G – C – E – A (the G string is the high one). Is your ukulele in tune? Use the ukulele tuner.

Notes and intervals of D♭ sus2

  • D♭1 · root
  • E♭2 · major second
  • A♭5 · perfect fifth

It's used to open up the sound of a major or minor chord, in pop and rock strumming and in intros with open strings.

Progressions with D♭sus2

Suspend and resolve: Isus2 – I

D♭sus2 usually resolves to D♭: you change just one note and the chord “settles”.

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the D♭ suspended 2 chord?

D♭ suspended 2 (D♭sus2) has 3 notes: D♭ (root), E♭ (major second), A♭ (perfect fifth).

How do you play D♭ suspended 2 on guitar?

The most common shape uses a barre at fret 4: x 4 6 6 4 4 (from string 6 to string 1). Barre fret 4 with your index finger, from string 5 to string 1. Finger 3 (ring) on fret 6 of string 4 (D). Finger 4 (pinky) on fret 6 of string 3 (G). Don't play string 6: strum from string 5.

Is D♭sus2 the same as C♯sus2?

Yes: D♭ suspended 2 and C♯ suspended 2 sound the same and are played the same way (they are enharmonic). The spelling depends on the key of the song; you will see both names in sheet music and songbooks.

What is the chord symbol for D♭ suspended 2?

It is written D♭sus2; you may also see D♭2. Letter-name chord notation uses C, D, E, F, G, A and B for the notes.

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