The sus4 or sus2. I’ve always said “sus” but in my head always thought “sustained”. But the meaning of the the word “suspended” makes more sense (suspend the 3, add 4 = sus4).
Is x2 the same as xsus2 And also I’m wondering the same thing about sus4
For example, if I’m playing I-V-vi-IV in E major on guitar, can I just decide the B is going to be sus2? Or should it be sus4 in certain situations? Or are there right and wrong times to even be using suspended chords in the first place?
Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Hi,
I'm kind of a beginner in terms of chord progressions and using scales and modes to identify those chord progressions.
There is something that I don't understand regarding suspended chords.
Let's say I decide to compose in C major / lydian ionian mode.
Thus I can find that :
- I is of course C major
- ii is D minor
- iii is E minor
- etc.
So I can compose a song using the major/minor/diminished chords that match the scale.
However, when do sus2 & sus4 chords come into play here ?
Does it mean than when composing, I should "not care" whether the major second or perfect fourth is in the C major scale, as long as it sounds good to me ?
As per my knowledge, every scale has a tonic chord which is essentially the one all other chords seem to revolve around. The tonic chord needs no furthur resolution, blends in extremely well within the entire piece and when the listener listens to this chord they feel 'at home'.
The diminished chords are quite dissonant in quality yet there exists a scale ( the Locrian mode ) that has such an unstable chord as its point of resolution.
And well if that's the case I was wondering if there were scales with other chords as their tonic too: what about suspended chords, augmented chords, and chords that do not have three notes (maybe two, or more than three)?
Do suspended chords ever have thirds? I know usually what makes it suspended is instead of the third, it’s a fourth or second. But I was curious if with the wider extensions or something this would ever happen. Wasn’t really sure, so figured I should ask just in case!
Thanks, Mike
Usually when I hear people describes sus chords, they say something like to the effect that you replace the 3rd with either the 2nd or 4th which to me sort of implies that the 2nd or 4th is acting as a substitute for the 3rd or, put differently, that the 2nd or 4th function similarly to the 3rd - that they are imbuing the chord with a "quality" but one that is different from either major or minor. However, as I never hear them overtly discussed in this way, I'm guessing that there's not much merit to that idea. Although I've never heard anyone say this, it seems like one could alternatively think of them as embellished power (5) chords. Or maybe they're their own thing entirely. In use, I believe I have mostly seen them used as ways to embellish major or minor chords (maybe toggling between the two - like in Crazy Little Thing Called Love) to introduce some movement (I mostly listen to rock and rock-pop and some folk rock). It almost seems incidental that the third is omitted but that's just the perspective of a novice. Do sus chords appear in those genres as stand-alone chords (i.e., not adjacent to the parent major or minor triad)? If so, how do they function in that capacity? Thanks for any insights, corrections, etc.
I did the mastering on Garageband for Mac from the master track with presets (hip hop). My experience exporting an AIFF and reimporting and using EQ, compression and limiting plugins has been horrible. I was going for a breezy summer feel.
https://reddit.com/link/odowtt/video/evbnwmgnc8971/player
It's not hard to see that any sus4 chord corresponds to a sus2 chord: namely, a sus4 chord of I is a sus2 chord of IV (as the V of I will be the II of the IV and vice versa). So, you can think of a Csus4 as a third-inverted Fsus2, or Csus2 as a second-inverted Gsus4. Is there any practical difference in these conceptualizations? If the notes are C,F,G, I'd imagine you'd think of it as Csus4 if it resolved to C, and Fsus2 if it resolved to F. If it didn't resolve to either C or F, however, but continued to build tension, I don't really see the value in classifying it one way as opposed to the other.
Which scales/modes sound good with suspended 4 chords? In a progressive metal sense not in a jazz sense. I've heard generally that lydian is not used with sus4 chords. Any help would be appreciated!
[RESOLVED]How does one recognize sus2 and sus4 by ear? Is it even a needed skill?
(Probably not a needed skill)
I'm not actually looking for an answer to this question but I just wanted to open up a discussion about what's up with suspended chords. I don't play any instrument (well) and I'm not super knowledgeable about music theory but I write a lot music and probably 90% or more of the ideas I come up with end up being chock-full of sus4 and sus2 chords. Sometimes I feel trapped and I try to write music that doesn't just completely rely on suspended chords but I kind of accidentally find my way back to them. Does anyone else just love the way they sound? I feel kind of dumb posting this because it's just like if I like it then it's fine, but I'm just wondering if this type of chord is working on me on a subconscious level causing it to manifest in everything I write. Or maybe it's just an extremely common occurrence in the music that I listen to? Anybody else share this experience?
Example: Fsus4->F. Obviously in the context of a progression. I first noticed this connection analyzing a chord progression by Oliver heldens in which he did a ton of movement from suspended chords to their triads, and it sounds so pleasing and energetic and I’ve found myself incorporating it a lot in my progressions ever since.
Cuz I really wanna get to third with you ;)
Im A Huge fan of Aug & Sus Chords, and since i often write in Harmonic Minor i can use them pretty much on every melody, but i noticed if i'd just play a chord on its own, without anything else it doesnt sound that good to the ears
It seems like it would never work (especially suspended chords), but my knowledge on music theory is very limited so I'm not sure.
If I'm using the wrong terminology please correct me, but when you suspend the vi chord in a major scale (Ex: Am to Asus4 in C major) it is very beautiful. I listen to as lot of music where the V is often suspended or sometimes the I or the V, but not the vi.
Am I not listening to the right music?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PViuzbpxjF4
Here's Lesson 2 of my Music Theory Series in which we will break down Suspended chords and understand some cool things like their construction, usage and how they aren't exactly a "randomly stacked" Triad
What approach should be taken when singing over a suspended chord? Since the third is omitted, should you not sing that note as well?
I made a little video explaining suspended bar chords and how you can use them and the music theory behind it. Maybe it helps some of you :)
