Suspended chord
Encyclopedia
A suspended chord is a chord
in which the third
is omitted, replaced usually with either a perfect fourth
or a major second
, 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.
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}.
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. 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). 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)). In pop
/synth-pop, Erasure
's "A Little Respect
" employs major to suspended changes in much of the song's harmonization. Another example with major to suspended progression is Johnny Thunders
' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory
". 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.
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. 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.
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. For example C9sus (C, F, G, B, D) may be notated C11 (C, —, G, B, D, F).
Contrast with sixth chord
.
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
in which the third
Third (music)
In music and music theory third may refer to:*major third*minor third*augmented third/perfect fourth*diminished third/major second*Third , chord member a third above the root*Mediant, third degree of the diatonic scale...
is omitted, replaced usually with either a perfect fourth
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
or a major second
Major second
In Western music theory, a major second is a musical interval spanning two semitones, and encompassing two adjacent staff positions . For example, the interval from C to D is a major second, as the note D lies two semitones above C, and the two notes are notated on adjacent staff postions...
, although the fourth is far more common. The lack of a minor or a major third in the chord creates an open sound
Voicing (music)
In music composition and arranging, a voicing is the instrumentation and vertical spacing and ordering of the pitches in a chord...
, while the tension between the fourth and fifth or second and first creates dissonance
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
.
The term is borrowed from the contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
technique of suspension, where a note from a previous chord is carried over to the next chord, and then resolved
Resolution (music)
Resolution in western tonal music theory is the move of a note or chord from dissonance to a consonance .Dissonance, resolution, and suspense can be used to create musical interest...
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
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, "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.
Each suspended chord has two inversions
Inversion (music)
In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices...
. 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}.
Suspended chords are commonly found in folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. An example can be found in the piece "One Short Day", part of the Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
musical by Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
, which starts with a descending arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
of a suspended chord. In rock, the verse of The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
song "Pinball Wizard
Pinball Wizard
"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S...
" is a sequence of suspended fourth chords resolving to their major counterparts (Bsus4-B Asus4-A etc). Another example is John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
"Happy Xmas " is a song written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir....
", where the sequence is of majors progressing to suspended second, then fourth, then back to the original (A-Asus2-Asus4-A)). In pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/synth-pop, Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
's "A Little Respect
A Little Respect
American band Wheatus released the song in July 2001 as their second single from their debut album. The single peaked at number three in the United Kingdom, while reaching number 19 in Austria and number 41 in New Zealand.-Critical reception:...
" employs major to suspended changes in much of the song's harmonization. Another example with major to suspended progression is Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. , was an American protopunk guitarist, singer and songwriter.He came to prominence in the early '70s as a member of the New York Dolls...
' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory
You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory
"You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory" is a song released in 1978 by ex-New York Dolls member Johnny Thunders. The title was taken from a line in the "Better Living Through TV" episode of the sitcom The Honeymooners, and was written for his close friend Fabienne Shine.Considered by many his...
". The last chord of the first bridge of The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
's "Every Breath You Take
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the...
" is an unresolved suspended chord, the introduction and chorus of Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band from The Hague, the Netherlands, formed in 1967. Their biggest hit, "Venus", went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970, and the band had sold 13.5 million discs by 1973, but the group disbanded in 1974.-Members:...
's "Venus" each contain an unresolved suspended chord, and the introduction of Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
's "Make Me Smile
Make Me Smile
"Make Me Smile" is a song written by James Pankow for the rock band Chicago. Part of Pankow's Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon song cycle/suite, it was recorded for their second album Chicago II...
" has two different suspended chords without traditional resolution.
A jazz sus chord is a dominant seventh chord with an added fourth (Gsus, for example), and may be written as a slash chord
Slash chord
In popular music a slash chord or slashed chord, also compound chord, is a chord whose bass note or inversion is indicated by the addition of a slash and the letter of the bass after the root note letter. It does not indicate "or"....
(F/G, or even Dm7/G) so as to show its function in II-V-I progressions. 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.
Sevenths on suspended chords are, "virtually always minor sevenths," while the 9sus chord is similar to an eleventh chord
Eleventh chord
In music, an eleventh chord is a chord which contains the tertian extension of the eleventh. Typically found in jazz, an eleventh chord will also usually include the seventh and ninth along with elements of the basic triad structure. Variants include the dominant eleventh, minor eleventh, and the...
and may be notated as such. For example C9sus (C, F, G, B, D) may be notated C11 (C, —, G, B, D, F).
Contrast with sixth chord
Sixth chord
A sixth chord may be any of several kinds of chord depending on the use of the term in classical music and popular music. The original meaning of the term is a chord in first inversion, in other words with its third in the bass and its root a sixth above it...
.
Suspended fourth chord table
| Chord | Root | Perfect Fourth | Perfect Fifth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Csus4 | C | F | G |
| C | F | G | |
| D | G | A | |
| Dsus4 | D | G | A |
| D | G | A | |
| E | A | B | |
| Esus4 | E | A | B |
| Fsus4 | F | B | C |
| F | B | C | |
| G | C (B) | D | |
| Gsus4 | G | C | D |
| G | C | D | |
| A | D | E | |
| Asus4 | A | D | E |
| A | D | E (F) | |
| B | E | F | |
| Bsus4 | B | E | F |
Suspended second chord table
| Chord | Root | Major Second | Perfect Fifth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Csus2 | C | D | G |
| C | D | G | |
| D | E | A | |
| Dsus2 | D | E | A |
| D | E (F) | A | |
| E | F | B | |
| Esus2 | E | F | B |
| Fsus2 | F | G | C |
| F | G | C | |
| G | A | D | |
| Gsus2 | G | A | D |
| G | A | D | |
| A | B | E | |
| Asus2 | A | B | E |
| A | B (C) | E (F) | |
| B | C | F | |
| Bsus2 | B | C | F |
Further reading
- Ellis, Andy. "EZ Street: Blending Sus Colors", Guitar Player. December 2006.