In previous posts, we’ve looked at major, minor, and dominant seventh chords. Today, we’ll take a look at suspended chords.
WHAT DOES SUSPENDED MEAN?
Musically, when we suspend, we are delaying resolution. You see, music is all about tension and release, and tension can be exaggerated by delaying some inevitable point of finality. The suspended chord came into play in the classical tradition for this very reason.
TWO MAIN TYPES OF SUSPENDED CHORDS
There are two common suspended chords in contemporary music: sus2 and sus4 chords. The numbers 2 and 4 represent the scale degree that is being held instead of the chord tone normally present in a given chord. An example will help that make sense:
Let’s look at a sus2 chord first: a Dsus2 chord consists of
D (root) – E (2nd scale degree, our suspended note) – A (perfect 5th).
Similarly, a Dsus4 chord is composed of the following three notes:
D (root) – G (4th scale degree, our suspended note) – A (5th scale degree).
Notice that we do not have a major 3rd in either of our suspended chords. Also, remember that the 3rd determines whether a chord is major or minor. (More on that in our article on the major triad and minor triad.) This is precisely why we call these chords suspended. You could even say they are incomplete – and they will only feel complete when the 4th scale degree resolves down to the 3rd, or in the case of the sus2 chord, when the 2nd scale degree resolves up to the 3rd.
HOW TO USE SUSPENDED CHORDS
In contemporary music, especially on the guitar (lessons here), suspended chords pop up all the time. We’ll often substitute suspended chords in the place of major chords because they can add a bit of flavor.
Generally speaking, you can test out suspended chords and use them wherever they sound good – except as the very last chord in a song. Why not that last chord? Because suspended chords are unstable, and the music will sound incomplete until the suspended chord is resolved. Of course, if you are specifically going for an unfinished feel, by all means, end with a suspended chord – just know that Bach and Beethoven will be frowning on your decision!
That’s all for now—rock on!
