Lesson 29 · All 12 keys

Dominant 7sus4 Chord Trainer

Learn how a dominant 7sus4 chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a sus4 chord (Lesson 28) with a minor 7th stacked on top, the suspended cousin of the plain dominant 7th chord (Lesson 13) — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 7sus4 chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its softened, lingering pull, in every key.

How a 7sus4 chord is built

A dominant 7sus4 chord is a 4-note chord — a sus4 chord (root, 4th, 5th) with a minor 7th stacked on top, the very same 7th a plain dominant 7th chord uses. Every 7sus4 chord — in any of the 12 keys — is built the exact same way, by counting semitones to the right from a root note:

  1. Start on the root — the note that names the chord.
  2. Count 5 semitones to the right to land on the perfect 4th (this replaces the 3rd entirely).
  3. From there, count 2 more semitones to the right (7 semitones from the root) to land on the perfect 5th.
  4. From there, count 3 more semitones to the right (10 semitones from the root) to land on the minor 7th.
Example — D 7sus4 (D7sus4): start on D, count 5 semitones right to reach G, 2 more to reach A, then 3 more to reach C. D‑G‑A‑C is the D7sus4 chord. The pattern 5, 2, 3 (10 semitones total from root to top) is what makes a chord a "dominant 7sus4 chord" — every one of the 12 7sus4 chords is this same shape, just moved to start on a different key.
A 7sus4 chord still carries a dominant 7th's pull toward its tonic, but the suspended 4th softens the sharp major-3rd edge that a plain dominant 7th has — which is exactly why gospel and jazz pianists reach for it as a gentler stand-in for V7, often letting it linger for a full bar before finally resolving down into a plain V7 right before the tonic arrives. Watch out for one mix-up: a 7sus4 chord is not the same as a plain sus4 triad (Lesson 28) — the added minor 7th is what gives it dominant-chord function and pull, which the triad alone doesn't have.

Try it: pick a root and build the chord step by step

Step 1 of 4
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 7sus4 chords at a glance

ChordRoot+5 semitones → 4th+2 semitones → 5th+3 semitones → ♭7th

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 7sus4 chords, one after another, moving around the circle of fourths — each chord's root sits a perfect 4th (5 semitones) above the last one: C → F → B♭ → E♭ → A♭ → D♭ → G♭/F♯ → B → E → A → D → G → back to C. Every chord is played as a full 4-note 7sus4 chord (root, 4th, 5th, and minor 7th together).

Chord 1 of 12
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The 12 chords, in circle-of-fourths order

#ChordRoot4th5th♭7th

Five jazz chord progressions built around the dominant 7sus4 chord — mostly using it as a softer, lingering stand-in for V7 that resolves down into a plain dominant chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes

Five gospel chord progressions built around the dominant 7sus4 chord — mostly using it as a softer, lingering stand-in for V7 that resolves down into a plain dominant chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes