Suspended chords are an easy and effective way to expand upon your already wide knowledge of major and minor chords. As well as the depth the 7th chord shapes add to the basic ones.
Today’s post focuses on how to further develop the chord shapes you’re already well versed in. And all it takes, is adding or changing notes with, for the most part, one finger! This can breath an extra bit of creativity and colour into your playing in an instant.
Where do suspended chords come from?
A sus chord, as you’ll see it written on a chord sheet, is a chord that omits the 3rd in a triad (or 7th!). This is then replaced with either a major 2nd (sus2) or a perfect 4th (sus4). What this does to the chord is create a sense of dissonance and, quite literally, suspense. The tension created is crying out for a resolution. Normally found when you go back to the chord you’ve altered. This isn’t limited to triads of course. 7th chords are also included in this. It’s all to do with that 3rd interval!
Guitar chords have multiple variations each, littered about the fretboard. Just knowing the CAGED chord shapes will ensure you can play one chord in at least 5 different positions. So therein lies an immediate way of adding variety to your playing. Opening with a E major chord? Why not move away from the open position and play it in the C shape on the 4th fret? Or turn it into an E7 on the 7th fret with the A form?
This is where suspended chords (and in a later post ‘add chords’) will come in. Finding new and interesting ways to alter chords, on a base level, increases your chordal knowledge and therefore what’s available to you.
Let’s look at some sus2s
So we’ve taken a quick look at how sus chords can add variation, and suspension, to your chord vocabulary. So now, we need to get to know how each sounds compared to their base chord. Try the following shapes and listen careful to the tonal quality when you add the major 2nd interval in.
Note how close the 2nd interval is to your usual shapes. We can also see the intervals surrounding the shapes so can clearly see where the two 3rds are in relation to the 2nd.
And what about sus4s?
I’m glad you asked! Going in the other direction from the 2nd, lands us on the perfect 4th.
When you get to the Gsus4, you can avoid playing the A string if it makes it easier!
Sus chords don’t just apply to the triads. You can apply them to seventh chords as well, just make sure you know where the 3rd is so that you can easily displace it with your 2nd or 4th interval.
Using them in songwriting
Suspended a chord typically means that we are “delaying resolution”. As we know, music is about tension and release and these sun chords really exacerbate this factor in composition. Sus4 chords display a pull, or a need to head ‘home’. Or in musical terms, a need to resolve to the 3rd. Sus2s on the other hand, feel less like they need to head home, but rather convey an airy or wistful mood.
To get a feel as to how sus chords sound in practice, listen to some of these classic tracks at the timestamped points;
- 01:32 Crazy little thing called love.
- 02:45 Friday I’m in love.
- 03:45 Summer of 69.
- 04:12 Have a nice day.
- 04:52 Ticket to ride.
- 05:21 More than a feeling.
- 05:40 Free fallin’.
- 06:48 Pinball wizard.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen is one of my favourite examples, purely because you’re hearing that suspended 4th right out of the gate!