How To Play The Asus2 Open Chord

This is an easy chord to add to your trick bag!

The Asus2 chord is almost like playing an open A chord. The only difference is that you’ll play the B string open instead of fretting the B string at the 2nd fret as done when playing an open A chord. When fretting an open A chord, you’ll usually use your 3rd finger to fret that 2nd fret on the B string. So, to play Asus2, you’ll simply lift up your 3rd finger and let the B string ring out.

Where To Use The Asus2 Open Chord

The Asus2 is a great substitution for an A chord. Especially if you want to create a little tension…

That’s because suspended chords create a subtle harmonic tension by adding an extra note which creates a chord voicing that sounds like it wants to resolve back to the original chord. In this case, the Asus2 wants to resolve to an A chord.

The suspended 2nd is often labeled as “sus2”.  The Asus2 chord adds the 2nd scale step replace of the 3rd.

Video: Asus2 Resolving To Open A

In the video below, you’ll hear the following progression: Asus2, A (open). Can you hear the resolution? Have you heard songs with this type of progression?