Sus chords, or suspended chords, are variations to traditional major and minor chords. While the name might seem unfamiliar, you’ve undoubtedly heard them many times and would recognize them immediately in popular songs like “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen and many others. They have multiple uses and really help to add color and movement to chord progressions, particularly around a single chord.
In this lesson we’ll take a look at what suspended chords are, how they’re built, and how they can be used in chord progressions.
Suspended chords are when the 3rd of a chord is removed and replaced with either a 2nd or 4th. In the case of a major chord, it will be the major 3rd that’s replaced. For a minor chord, it will be the minor 3rd. Let’s revisit chord building for a moment.
Dominant Seventh Suspended Second Chord
If you recall, the 3rd of a chord determines its quality, with major chords have a major 3rd and minor chords having a minor 3rd. With the 3rd removed, sus chords are neither major nor minor. How these chords function largely depends on the chord progression itself. Generally, sus4 chords will resolve down to a major/minor chord while sus2 chords will resolve up to a major/minor chord.
When you see suspended chords notated, they use the “sus” abbreviation after the root name of the chord. Sus chords replaced with the second are written as sus2.
Some suspended chords occur in music more frequently than others, particularly those built around the open chord shapes. Open chord shapes in general are easy to use, and the following suspended chords are equally easy to play and allows for simple decoration of the open chords.
What Is A Sus Chord And How Do You Use It?
From the sus chords in the previous section, the E form and A form chords from the CAGED system lend themselves to movable sus chord shapes that can be played up the neck.
The E form chord gives us the following movable sus chord shapes. Note, on the sus2 chord you may have to play the root note on the 6th string with the thumb. If your hands are flexible enough, the middle finger may work as well.
From the A form chord we get the following movable sus chord shapes. Both chords in the A form can be played as barre chords.
Suspended Chords For Guitar
Suspended chords are pretty flexible in how they can be used. Let’s take a look at a few examples to get an idea.
One of the more common uses of sus chords is to create movement around a single root note. Take for instance Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
In the intro, you hear a back and forth between the D major chord and Dsus4 chord. If just the D chord was strummed with the same rhythm, it would lose its liveliness.
How To Play The Dm Chord (position, Variations, And Exercises)
In Led Zeppelin’s “Tangerine”, you see something similar. The opening riff uses both sus2 and sus4 to create movement around the Am chord that leads to the G major chord.
You see this type of use again on the D chord at the end of the opening riff and right before the chorus.
Suspended chords can also be used just as any major/minor chord would be used. Take for instance the following chord progression with an intended use as a chorus: A – B – C#m
Sus4 Chords (suspended Fourth)
The one caveat to using suspended chords in chord progressions is they can’t always be substituted for any chord in a progression. When you remove the 3rd and replace it with a 2nd or 4th, these notes don’t always fit within the diatonic harmony of a key. For this reason, suspended chords will not work in every instance.
Suspended chords are chords in which the 3rd is replaced with a 2nd (sus2) or 4th (sus4) interval. Without the 3rd, the chords are neither major nor minor. Sus2 chords tend to resolve up to a major/minor chord while the sus4 tends to resolve down to a major/minor chord. Sus chords are versatile and can be a good way to liven up chord progressions, particularly when used to create movement around a single chord.Home > Chords / Progressions > Suspended Chords Suspended Guitar Chords - How & When To Play Them Suspended chords play a prominant role in shaping harmony in all forms of music. Spend some time getting to know their sound and function.
This lesson will show you how to play suspended chords on guitar and offer some tried and tested ideas for using them in your songwriting.
Great Songs That Use Sus Chords
The video below will get you started. Even if you're already familiar with sus chords, you may find some fresh sounds and ideas for using them in your own songs...
Basic Suspended Chord Theory Suspended chords occur when the 3rd has been replaced with a perfect 4th (4) or major 2nd (2) interval.
The result is a feeling of suspense (especially with sus4 chords), a more open and ambiguous sound than the more resolved major and minor chords.
G Suspended 2nd Guitar Chord
Suspended Guitar Chord Charts Here you can learn how to form suspended chords on the guitar fretboard, both in the open position and movable shapes. The fingerings are only suggestions. Feel free to adjust!
Open Dominant 7th Suspended 4th Chords (7sus4) The addition of the minor (dominant) 7th gives the sus4 chord more depth and colour...
Open Extended Suspended 4th Chords (9sus4 / 13sus4) We can extend the 7sus4 chords to include additional tones, such as the 9th and 13th, for even more colour. These are most commonly used in jazz, soul and funk, but they would sound great in any style.
A Suspended 2nd Guitar Chord
Movable Extended Suspended 4th Chords (9sus4 / 13sus4) The first A string root shape is not an error! Simply barre your index finger across the five strings to get a deep and soulful sus4 sound...
Open Suspended 2nd Guitar Chords (sus2) Try these sus2 chords in place of major and minor chords for a more open sound...
Open Major 7th Suspended 2nd Guitar Chords (maj7sus2) A nice variation on the above chords, with the major 7th adding some extra colour...
Unlocking Musical Richness: Mastering Extended Chords On Guitar
Sus4 in place of major/minor chords The sus4 chord has a neutral sound, so you'll find it can replace most instances of a major or minor chord. Try swapping different chords in your progressions for sus4 and 7sus4 chords. For example...
Take a listen to how the Stone Temple Pilots use this sus4 - maj movement in the climax of their song Big Empty (starts at 2:42). You can hear a movement from E7sus4 to E7 right before he sings conversations kill.
So you have the choice of either holding the sus4 through the chord, or resolve the 4 to a b3 (minor) or 3 (major).
Suspended Chords Guitar Trick
Tonic sus4 You'll often hear sus4 being used in the tonic position. That's the chord we might call home in our progression/key. Typically, this sus4 is resolved to the natural tonic chord, whether major or minor. For example...
In countless songs, you'll hear an interchange between the tonic major/minor and a sus4 on the same root. One example is the opening to Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love . Another is Sheryl Crow's If It Makes You Happy .
V sus4 In music theory, the V (5) chord is a strong point of tension before the return home back to the tonic (1) chord of the key.
Sus Guitar Chords
Using a suspended 4th chord (including its extensions) on this V position can serve to enhance that tension. The table below shows you the relationship between the tonic and V chords in several common keys. It can work in both major and minor keys...
Consecutive sus4 You can use consecutive sus4 chords to create a build up of tension. I love how Luther Vandross opened his song Never Too Much , with a chromatic sequence of what sounds like 9sus4 chords. Another example...
And of course, you can resolve each (or some) of these sus4 chords to a major or minor chord, demonstrated by The Who in their classic Pinball Wizard (starts at 0:17). Listen to the descending sus4 - maj movements.
B(b5)sus Guitar Chord
For a deeper, more mysterious tonic sound, try a 7sus2. Very nice when picked and drawn out. If you know your scales/modes, a 7sus2 would relate naturally to Mixolydian.
IV sus2 The sus2 chord also sounds very natural in the IV position. The table below will show you the relationship between the IV and tonic chord in several keys. maj7sus2 also sounds great in this position because in major keys the IV is naturally a maj7 chord.
7sus2 in the V position When we add the minor 7th to sus2 chords, it destabilises them and creates tension. This means 7sus2's work effectively in the V position. You should know from the sus4 table earlier what these positions will be for a given key, so there's a little test for you!
How To Play And Apply Sus2 And Sus4 Chords
7sus2 as a bVII Here's a little known use of 7sus2 chords, known as a backdoor VII in major keys or just the subtonic in minor keys. All we do is take the tonic chord of the key and move the root down one whole step for the bVII position. It's on this position we play a 7sus2 chord. A deep and soulful sound.
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