A♭sus4 chord on ukulele

A♭sus4 is A♭, D♭ and E♭. The usual shape is 1-3-4-4. Hit Play and watch each string light as it sounds.

1-3-4-4 · movable · medium

Notes: A♭ · D♭ · E♭
Formula: 1 · 4 · 5
First shape: 1-3-4-4

How to play A♭sus4 on ukulele

Shape 1, 1-3-4-4, reading from the G string on the left:

Put your index finger on the G string at the 1st fret, which is A♭.
Put your middle finger on the C string at the 3rd fret, which is E♭.
Put your ring finger on the E string at the 4th fret, which is A♭.
Put your pinky finger on the A string at the 4th fret, which is D♭.

This shape uses your pinky. It feels weak at first; press with the tip and let the finger stay curved.
A four-fret stretch: drop your wrist a little and point your thumb up the back of the neck.
On ukulele you strum all four strings. The top G string is tuned higher than the C, which is why ukulele chords sound bright and close.

Other ways to play A♭sus4

6-8-9-6: movable shape at the 6th fret, medium. A different set of strings gives a different color of the same chord.

Capo shortcuts for A♭sus4

A capo turns an open chord into A♭sus4: capo on the 1st fret and play the open Gsus4 shape (0-2-3-3) or capo on the 6th fret and play the open Dsus4 shape (2-2-3-0). Handy when the rest of the song's chords also have open shapes in that position.

A♭sus4 chord changes

Songs rarely hold A♭sus4 for long. Here's what your hand does on the moves that come up most.

A♭ (resolves down to the third): A♭sus4 (1-3-4-4) to A♭ (1-3-4-3): your index and middle fingers stay put, your ring finger lands on the A string, 3rd fret, the pinky finger slides across to the E string at the same fret. A♭ and E♭ carry over from one chord to the other. A♭ on ukulele
C♯ (IV in A♭ major): A♭sus4 (1-3-4-4) to C♯ (6-5-4-4): the index finger goes to the E string, 4th fret, your middle finger lands on the A string, 4th fret, move the ring finger to the C string, 5th fret. Nothing carries over, so drill it slowly, lifting and landing all fingers at once. The two chords share A♭ and D♭, which is why the change sounds smooth. C♯ on ukulele
E♭ (V in A♭ major): A♭sus4 (1-3-4-4) to E♭ (0-3-3-1): your middle finger stays put, the index finger goes to the A string, 1st fret, move the ring finger to the E string, 3rd fret. E♭ carries over from one chord to the other. E♭ on ukulele

A♭sus4 lifts the third up to the fourth. All 3 notes of A♭sus4 fit on the ukulele's four strings, with one of them doubled. A♭sus4 holds the fourth where the third should be; drop it a half step or whole step into A♭ or A♭m to resolve. The slow arpeggio button above makes that quality easy to hear.

A short A♭sus4 drill

Arpeggiate 1-3-4-4 from the lowest string: A♭, E♭, A♭, D♭. Then strum it and listen for the same 4 notes together. Finish by moving between 1-3-4-4 and 6-8-9-6 to learn two positions of the same chord.

Written G♯sus4, it's the same chord with the same frets.

Where A♭sus4 shows up

A♭sus4 on guitar and piano

The same notes on another instrument: A♭sus4 on guitar and A♭sus4 on piano. This page puts all three side by side.

Next to try on ukulele

Other suspended fourth chords

A♭sus4 on ukulele: questions

What notes are in A♭sus4 on ukulele?

A♭, D♭ and E♭. In the 1-3-4-4 shape the strings play A♭ (G string), E♭ (C string), A♭ (E string) and D♭ (A string), so A♭ is doubled.

What's the easiest way to play A♭sus4 on ukulele?

A♭sus4 has no open-string shape in standard tuning, so every version needs a barre or a stretch. Start with 1-3-4-4. It uses 4 fingers and no barre, and a capo is worth trying when the song allows.

Is A♭sus4 a barre chord on ukulele?

Not in its common form: 1-3-4-4 needs no barre.

Which string does A♭sus4 start on?

In the 1-3-4-4 shape the lowest string you play is the G string at the 1st fret, which is A♭, the root.

Checked automatically: no shape here plays a note outside A♭sus4. Updated September 2026.