Suspended Chords
Suspended chords are those beautiful chords that sound like they want to go somewhere. Unlike the dominant 7 chord, which "wants" to resolve to another root (for example, G7 - C), a suspended chord resolves to its own major chord.
There are two types of suspended chords, sus2 and sus4. sus4 is the more common, and is sometimes indicated simply as sus.
A basic chord is made up of a root, third, and fifth. (Here is an article about basic chord construction.) With a suspended chord, we replace that middle note with either the second or the fourth.
Examples:
- Gsus2 = G A D
- A sus4 = A D E
- Dbsus2 = Db Eb Ab
The second in a scale will be a whole step up from the root. So, to make a sus2, think of the three notes in the major chord and replace the middle note with a note one whole step up from the root.
Example - what notes are in a Bb sus2? Bb major = Bb Db F. A whole step higher than Bb is C, so replace the middle note of the chord with C: Bb sus2 = Bb C F
The fourth is a half-step higher than a major third. To make a sus4, think of the three notes in the major chord and replace the middle note with a note a half-step higher than the major third.
For example, to make a C sus4: C major is C - E - G. Raise E a half-step and you get F. (We wouldn’t say "E#" in this case…we want to show that it’s a fourth. The fourth note out from C is F.)