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A ''suspended chord'' uses a major 2nd or perfect 4th in place of the major/minor 3rd normally found in major/minor triads. Suspended chords have an abbreviated name of sus2 or sus4. For example, Csus2 is (C D G) while Csus4 is (C F G).
== PreReqs ==
* [[C Major Chord]]
* [[E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor Chords]]
== Tonality ==
These are basically the same shapes as our barre chords, but with a few small differences. Either of the sus2 shape requires muting the G string. I like to use my pinky in example 1 and ring finger in example 2.
The first example of the sus2 demonstrates the stacked fifths on its bass strings. In rock playing, often only those 3 notes are played in that shape, requiring no index finger barre. The sus4 demonstrates the stacked 4ths on its A, D, and G strings.
===5 String===
|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
Here we finally take advantage of that barre for the 4-string sus2 chord.
== Harmonic Function ==
Suspended chords are often used to prolong the full resolution from a progression. For example, when resolving from V or vii° to the tonic chord of the key, the 2nd note of the key is found in both the V and vii° chords. The other notes resolve, while that 2nd sustains, forming the sus2 chord on the tonic chord, preventing a full resolution. After sustaining the sus2 long enough, the 2nd resolves up to the 3rdor down to the tonic, making the I and completing the resolution.
For the sus4, the same thing happens with the 4th note of the key, when resolving from a ii or IV chord to I. The 4th resolves down to the 3rd or up to the 5th.
===Examples===
Another common usage is to alternate between sus2, sus4 and the major or minor chord with the same root. This adds a little melody into the harmony. This can be heard most predominantly in ''Kansas'' 's "Dust in the Wind" and ''Led Zepplin'' 's "Tangerine". However, it's important to distinguish that these cases aren't often true suspensions, with the major/minor 3rd actually being played by another instrument or in a different octave. Then the effect is similar to a 9th or 13th chord, which we will cover later.
== Homework ==
== Q & A ==
== Related Lessons ==
* [[Suspended Chords|Prev: Suspended Chords]]
* [[Applying Rhythm to Chords|Next: Applying Rhythm to Chords]]
[[Category:Guitar]]
[[Category:Lessons]]
[[Category:Intermediate Lessons]]
[[Category:Harmony]]
[[Category:Chords]]