If you’re a musician who plays songs from songbooks, you’ve probably come across some chords that have somewhat funky names like: Csus4, C7sus2, C7sus, etc. The “sus” in the chord name is short for the word “suspension,” and you could pronounce the chord Csus4, “C suspended four” or simply “C sus four”. Any sus chord without a number (Csus), automatically implies that it is a Csus4.
A regular triad like C major contains the notes C, E and G, which are taken from the first, third, and fifth notes (degrees) from the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C). Therefore you could say that the formula for any major triad is 1, 3 and 5, and you can apply that to whatever key or major scale you wish.
In the case of a suspended chord, we are replacing the third degree with either the second or fourth degree from the major scale. Example: Csus4 contains the notes C, F, and G, whereas a Csus2 contains the notes C, D, and G. To “suspend” a chord means to suspend the third degree, which determines whether a chord is major or minor. Suspended chords commonly shift to and from the parent chord, as in: D – Dsus4 – D.
In each case, the third of the chord was eliminated resulting in the chords having somewhat of an ambiguous quality. Suspended chords are neither major nor minor, but the implied tonality of the parent chord can be determined by the major or minor chords that occur naturally within a given key.
Don’t confuse add2 and add4 chords with sus2 and sus4. The difference in add chords is that they “add in” the specified degree to a regular major or minor triad that contains the third degree, and suspension chords replace the third degree all together. Cadd2 = C, D, E, G and Csus2 = C, D, G. Dominant 7th chords can also be suspended as well. C7sus4 = C,F,G,B♭.
Now that you know the formula for suspended chords, take the time to construct as many of them as possible in various keys. If you’re having trouble locating the notes on the guitar neck, check out the March 2011 Guitarticle on “Learning the Language of the Fretboard” at boropulse.com. Peace out!
Looking to improve your guitar skills? Call Chambers Guitars for lessons at (615) 898-0055.
