Suspended chord
| Component intervals from root | ||
| perfect fifth | ||
| perfect fourth | ||
| root | ||
| Tuning | ||
| 6:8:9 | ||
| Component intervals from root | ||
| perfect fifth | ||
| major second | ||
| root | ||
| Tuning | ||
| 8:9:12 | ||
A suspended chord (sus chord) is a chord in which the third is omitted, replaced usually with either a perfect fourth (
play (help·info)) or a major second ( play (help·info)),[2] although the fourth is far more common. The lack of a minor or a major third in the chord creates an open sound, while the tension between the fourth and fifth or second and first creates dissonance.
The term is borrowed from the contrapuntal technique of suspension, where a note from a previous chord is carried over to the next chord, and then resolved down to the third or tonic, suspending a note from the previous chord. However, in modern usage, the term concerns only the notes played at a given time; in a suspended chord the added tone does not necessarily resolve, and is not necessarily "prepared" (i.e., held over) from the prior chord. As such, in C-F-G, F would resolve to E, but in rock and popular music, "the term is used to indicate only the harmonic structure, with no implications about what comes before or after," though preparation of the fourth occurs about half the time and traditional resolution of the fourth occurs usually.[3]
Each suspended chord has two inversions. Suspended second chords are inversions of suspended fourth chords, and vice versa. For example, Gsus2 (G-A-D) is the first inversion of Dsus4 (D-G-A) which is the second inversion of Gsus2 (G-A-D). The sus2 and sus4 chords both have an inversion that creates a quartal chord with two stacked perfect fourths.
Suspended fourth and second chords can be represented, in integer notation, as {0, 5, 7} and {0, 2, 7} respectively. The second inversion (quartal chord) is {0, 5, 10}.
A jazz sus chord is a dominant seventh chord with an added fourth (Gsus, for example), and may be written as a slash chord (F/G, or even Dm7/G) so as to show its function in II-V-I progressions.[4][5] Jazz from the 1940s on may retain the 3rd along with the 4th, though this makes the chord more dissonant, especially depending on whether the voicing is closed or open and whether the fourth is below or above the third.[4]
Sevenths on suspended chords are "virtually always minor sevenths", while the 9sus chord is similar to an eleventh chord and may be notated as such.[6] For example C9sus (C, F, G, B♭, D) may be notated C11 (C, —, G, B♭, D, F).
Contrast with sixth chord.
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[edit] Examples in popular music
Suspended chords are commonly found in folk music and popular music. An example can be found in the piece "One Short Day", part of the Wicked musical by Stephen Schwartz, which starts with a descending arpeggio of a suspended chord.[citation needed] In rock, the verse of The Who song "Pinball Wizard" is a sequence of suspended fourth chords resolving to their major counterparts (Bsus4-B Asus4-A etc).[citation needed] Another example is John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", where the sequence is of majors progressing to suspended second, then fourth, then back to the original (A-Asus2-Asus4-A)).[citation needed] In pop/synth-pop, Erasure's "A Little Respect" employs major to suspended changes in much of the song's harmonization.[citation needed] Another example with major to suspended progression is Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory".[citation needed] The last chord of the first bridge of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" is an unresolved suspended chord, the introduction and chorus of Shocking Blue's "Venus" each contain an unresolved suspended chord, and the introduction of Chicago's "Make Me Smile" has two different suspended chords without traditional resolution.[3]
[edit] Suspended chord tables
[edit] Suspended fourth chord table
| Chord | Root | Perfect Fourth | Perfect Fifth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Csus4 | C | F | G |
| C♯sus4 | C♯ | F♯ | G♯ |
| D♭sus4 | D♭ | G♭ | A♭ |
| Dsus4 | D | G | A |
| D♯sus4 | D♯ | G♯ | A♯ |
| E♭sus4 | E♭ | A♭ | B♭ |
| Esus4 | E | A | B |
| Fsus4 | F | B♭ | C |
| F♯sus4 | F♯ | B | C♯ |
| G♭sus4 | G♭ | C♭ (B) | D♭ |
| Gsus4 | G | C | D |
| G♯sus4 | G♯ | C♯ | D♯ |
| A♭sus4 | A♭ | D♭ | E♭ |
| Asus4 | A | D | E |
| A♯sus4 | A♯ | D♯ | E♯ (F) |
| B♭sus4 | B♭ | E♭ | F |
| Bsus4 | B | E | F♯ |
[edit] Suspended second chord table
| Chord | Root | Major Second | Perfect Fifth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Csus2 | C | D | G |
| C♯sus2 | C♯ | D♯ | G♯ |
| D♭sus2 | D♭ | E♭ | A♭ |
| Dsus2 | D | E | A |
| D♯sus2 | D♯ | E♯ (F) | A♯ |
| E♭sus2 | E♭ | F | B♭ |
| Esus2 | E | F♯ | B |
| Fsus2 | F | G | C |
| F♯sus2 | F♯ | G♯ | C♯ |
| G♭sus2 | G♭ | A♭ | D♭ |
| Gsus2 | G | A | D |
| G♯sus2 | G♯ | A♯ | D♯ |
| A♭sus2 | A♭ | B♭ | E♭ |
| Asus2 | A | B | E |
| A♯sus2 | A♯ | B♯ (C) | E♯ (F) |
| B♭sus2 | B♭ | C | F |
| Bsus2 | B | C♯ | F♯ |
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
- ^ Hawkins, Stan. "Prince- Harmonic Analysis of 'Anna Stesia'", p.329 and 334n7, Popular Music, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Oct., 1992), pp. 325-335.
- ^ Andy Ellis. "EZ Street: Sus-Chord Mojo", Guitar Player. October 2006.
- ^ a b c Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis, p.88. ISBN 9780300092394.
- ^ a b c Humphries, Carl (2002). The Piano Handbook, p.129. ISBN 0879307277.
- ^ Levine, Mark (1989). The Jazz Piano Book. Sher Music. p. 23. ISBN 0-9614701-5-1. "Dm7/G describes the function of the sus chord, because a sus chord is like a ii-V progression contained in one chord. The ii-V progression in the key of C is Dm7, G7."
- ^ a b Stephenson (2002), p.88.
[edit] Further reading
- Ellis, Andy. "EZ Street: Blending Sus Colors", Guitar Player. December 2006.
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