F Suspended Fourth Ukulele Arpeggio
Ukulele arpeggio — fretboard diagram
F Suspended Fourth Arpeggio — Notes and Intervals
Notes: F, Bb, C
Intervals: 1P, 4P, 5P
Formula: 5-W
Number of notes: 3
Also known as: sus4, sus
The F Suspended Fourth arpeggio contains 3 notes (F, Bb, C). Use the interactive fretboard above to explore this arpeggio on Ukulele with different tunings and fret ranges.
When to Use the F Suspended Fourth Arpeggio
Play the F Suspended Fourth arpeggio whenever a F Suspended Fourth chord appears in a progression. Unlike scales (which include passing tones), arpeggios guarantee every note you play IS a chord tone, making your solo sound harmonically precise and intentional.
Arpeggio vs. Scale
The F Suspended Fourth arpeggio uses 3 notes (F, Bb, C) while the full scale uses 7. The arpeggio is a subset — think of it as the skeleton of the scale. Practice alternating between the arpeggio and the full scale to develop a melodic vocabulary that mixes chord tones with passing tones.
How to Play F Suspended Fourth Arpeggio on Ukulele
On ukulele, find F around fret 5 and play through the arpeggio tones (F, Bb, C). With 3 notes, this arpeggio fits within a single chord shape on the ukulele. Try picking through the F Suspended Fourth chord form to hear the arpeggio in context.
The F Suspended Fourth arpeggio avoids the third, creating an open, unresolved sound. It works over Fsus4, Fsus2, F7sus4 voicings and is perfect for creating a modern, ambiguous harmonic feel that neither commits to major nor minor.
Practice Routine
Start by playing the F Suspended Fourth arpeggio ascending and descending at 60 BPM, one note per beat, using a metronome. Once even and confident, play it in eighth notes, then triplets, keeping each note articulate. Spend at least 5 minutes daily on this before moving to musical application.
Ukulele Tips
The ukulele's re-entrant tuning creates natural voice leading within the F Suspended Fourth arpeggio. Experiment with picking patterns that take advantage of the high G string to create unexpected interval leaps within the arpeggio shape.