How to Decorate Your Music with Suspended Chords
Suspended chords are those which you should know in addition to the major and minor chords. People often tend to feel mystified with these chords thinking they are tough. On the contrary, they are very simple to play and beautifully ornament the major/minor chords associated with them. I will tell you how.
First, it is important to get into a few basics of chords. If your theories of chords are up your sleeve, then you will remember that basic chords (triads) are made up of 3 notes. The root note, the third and the fifth note. If we take the example of C major chord:
C D E F G A B C
1 – 3 – 5 – – –
Here, the root note is C, the third note is E and the fifth note is G. Hence for C major = C E G.
Similarly, for minor chords, we just have to lower the third note by half a step. So instead of E, we will have Eb. Hence for C minor = C Eb G.
So, if we remove the 3rd degree/note, the chord will be neither major nor minor. So what will it be? It will be somewhere in between… in other words, suspended. That’s the concept of suspended chords.
Well, things don’t end here… You will find varieties with suspended chords. You must have come across it… Dsus2, Dsus4 etc… You get these variations by replacing the third note with the second note for sus2 chords and with 4th note for sus4 chords. As simple as that.
How to Practice Suspended Chords
You can either directly play the suspended chords and appreciate their sound. Or else, you can play them along with their parent chords (major and minor).
For example, you can play like this D, Dsus4, D, Dsus2 over and over. This is the most common way of playing suspended chords. Once you get the hang of it, you can also try Dmin, Dsus2, Dmin, Dsus4 and so on.
How are Suspended Chords Used In Music
You will find suspended chords used directly in between chords, but the more common way is to ornament the parent chord. So, if you have to play a particular chord for longer than a bar or more, put in suspended chords in between to make it sound beautiful. That way, you can improvise the rhythms itself.
Some Suspended Chords You Should Know
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![Guitar Chords: Maahi Ve, Highway [2014]](https://www.abhiguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Maahi-Ve-Highway_2014-300x300.jpg "Guitar Chords: Maahi Ve, Highway [2014]")
Great work man! Really helpful!
Hoping for more of these kinds!
Thanks Ahsan… Yes, I am developing more such lessons.
This is a nice list of special chords you shared here Ab! I use them sometimes when writing my own music. Not to many people know about them that are playing the guitar and are self taught!
Yes, people have a lot of misunderstanding about these chords being out of fashion and tough. Actually it’s the opposite!
Abhinav u r really doing a great job yaar!!!!
ur tips r so precious 4 a beginner and i personally liked d suspended chords. i was unaware of this thing although i hav been playing guitar 4 two yrs.
why dont u give chords 4 some famous tracks like
allah k bande , maaeri, dooba dooba rehta hu…
hey abhinav, i’m eagerly waiting for your lessons on power and barre chords… and i heard of diminished chords also , wil you give a lesson on that too?
Extremely helpful and enlightening. Kindles an interest to read more on theory of chords and music in general. I’m amazed at how beautifully music is intertwined with mathematics 🙂
extremely helpful post,i am new in music and don’t have idea of it…nice work
u r doing really a great job..
thank you very much.
These chords really sound cool, suspended!! Had come across, but din know what this sus mean. Thank for sharing bro!!!
i m well practicing this
Hi Abhinav, your post was great and very helpful. i live in Mumbai and play guitar. i wanted to learn advanced chords. what is the link to get in contact with you, please advise, thanx.
Action requires kwnoldgee, and now I can act!
In one simple line: I LOVE YOU, MATE!
This was, in my history of guitar playing, the EASIEST way to understanding Suspended chords! Bless you.
And also, with this explanation, can you add how do I, for eg., make a Csus. Kinda a lil confused here 🙁
Abhinav, you forgot to add a very crucial point in this post: that is the 3rd note is suspended, and it is substituted by the 4th note. So a C to a C suspended is C – e – G … to … C – f – G. And since a suspended chord can lead to a confusion, it is denoted by a 4 (e.g. Csus4). This is to denote that the 4th note is taken here. Suspended chords denoted by 2 (e.g. Csus2) means here the 2nd note is used.
Dude, this was like the best thing. I never really got the concept of suspended chords before this. But the way YOU explained it….man….*happy* 🙂
Damn good lessons man.
it helped me a lot in improving my guitar skills.
Thanks a lot and keep it up.
Gr8 efforts helped me alot…!!
Hey great lesson!
…although a chord without the 3rd is technically a powerchord if you don’t have a 2nd or 4th to replace it 😉 I like your way of explaining things, though.
Did you know that, technically, a “sus2” chord comes from something called a “retardation”, and not a “suspension” because the third has gone down to a 2nd instead of upwards to a 4th. They are all called Suspended chords nowadays, but the distinction is sometimes still there in melodies.
Rob.
hey thanks buddy. its very useful and easy to learn suspended chords.
keep posting.
Abhinav , you are doing a great great job. Congratulations