Banjo B♭sus4 chord (Open D)B♭ suspended 4th on the 5-string banjo: 1 4 1 3, and 3 more shapes

Bbsus4 chord chart for 5-string banjo in Open D tuning: 1 4 1 3, first position, with the short 5th string marked — Bbsus4 (Bb suspended 4th) on the 5-string banjo, Open D: 1 4 1 3, string 4 to string 1. Fingers are numbered on the dots; copper marks the root; the green ring on the left is the 5th string, solid when it’s in the chord.

Frets, string 4 to string 1: 1 4 1 3 (first position)

String 4 (D): 1st fret, index finger (barre), E♭
String 3 (F♯): 4th fret, little finger, B♭
String 2 (A): 1st fret, index finger (barre), B♭
String 1 (D): 3rd fret, ring finger, F
String 5, the short f♯: open, F♯, not in the chord

Sounds: E♭ B♭ B♭ F · B♭sus4 is B♭, E♭, F (1 · 4 · 5)

The 5th string: the short f♯ rubs against the F in this shape, a semitone away: some players let it ring, some skip it.

With a capo: on the 3rd fret it’s 0 1 3 0 (frets counted from the capo), an open Gsus4 shape. Spike the 5th string at the 8th fret to keep it in tune with the capo.

Open D tuning: f♯DF♯AD, the short 5th string first, then strings 4 to 1.

Hear it in the app ›

The link can’t set the tuning: the app starts in open G. Choose Open D once in its Settings and it remembers.

More B♭sus4 shapes

3 4 6 3
3fr
8 9 8 8
8fr
13 11 13 13
11fr

Other B♭ chords in Open D

B♭B♭m B♭7 B♭m7 B♭maj7 B♭6B♭sus4B♭sus2 B♭dim B♭aug

Other suspended 4th chords

Gsus4 Asus4 Dsus4 Csus4 Bsus4 Esus4 Fsus4B♭sus4

B♭sus4 in other tunings

Open G Double C Sawmill C Tuning

All Open D banjo chords · Printable chart (PDF) · How to tune · The app