Add Colour to your Rhythm Parts with Suspended Chords
Sus2 chords have been used by many of the greats.
Listen to Jimi Hendrix (Little Wing), The Police (Message in a Bottle), Prince (Purple Rain) and many more.
Explanation of sus2
D sus2 chord is a chord where the 3 rd is replaced with the major 2 nd . The scale voicing is then 1, 2, 5 instead of 1, 3, 5. You could confuse this with a Dadd9 chord ( 1, 3, 5, 9) but they function differently and have a unique sound. Technically it’s called sus2 because the 3 isn’t present.
Try these few simple open chord versions.
Dsus2
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Asus2
Try using a sus2 chord and listen to the sound it creates
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SUS4
Many top bands use sus4 chords in their songs.
Check out ‘The Beatles’, ‘Pearl Jam’, ‘Oasis’, ‘Crowded House’ or ‘U2’ – the list is endless!
Explanation of SUS4
D sus4 chord is a chord where the 3 rd is replaced with, you guessed it, the major 4th ! The scale voicing is then 1, 4, 5, instead of 1, 3, 5. Again, the name sus4 is derived from the fact that the 3 isn’t present. The beauty of the chord is that it can function as either major or minor, because the 3rd scale note of the chord is not played. Sus4 chords typically act as passing chords.
Let’s learn a few of the basic open versions.
Esus4
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Asus4
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Dsus4
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Here’s an exercise using a few of the sus4 chords to hear their sound
This may remind you of the Oasis song ‘Wonderwall’.
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