A suspended chord replaces the third of a triad with the second or the fourth. Csus4 is C, F and G, and Csus2 is C, D and G. With no third, neither chord is major or minor, which gives them an open sound that the ear hears as incomplete until the third returns or the chord moves on.
\nA triad’s quality comes from its third, and the triads and inversions article shows how the three notes are arranged. A major third, four semitones above the root, makes a major chord, and a minor third, three semitones above, makes a minor one. Remove the third and nothing in the chord says which it is. A suspended chord keeps the root and fifth and puts a different note in place of the third.
\n| Chord | Notes on C | Intervals above the root | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | C E G | major third, perfect fifth | major |
| Cm | C Eb G | minor third, perfect fifth | minor |
| Csus2 | C D G | major second, perfect fifth | neither |
| Csus4 | C F G | perfect fourth, perfect fifth | neither |
The third is missing from a sus chord for a physical reason. E and F are a semitone apart, so a chord with both the third and the fourth puts two notes against each other at the closest possible distance. A Csus4 with E in the top voice is not a suspended chord any more; it is a cluster that sounds like a clash.
\nThe fifth is the least essential note. Csus4 without its G is just C and F, an open fourth, and the sound still reads as a sus4 because the fourth still sits against the root. The root is the one note a sus chord cannot lose.
\nThe word “suspension” is used for two different things. A suspension is a note held over from the previous chord into the next one, where it clashes with the new harmony and then steps down to a chord tone. A sus chord is a complete chord with no third. The difference is in the job each one does.
\n| Feature | Suspension | Sus chord |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | One voice held across a chord change | A whole chord with no third |
| Its job | Creates tension and then releases it | Gives an open, unfinished colour |
| Usual resolution | The held note steps down to a chord tone | Often none; may move to a major or minor chord |
| Example | An F held over a C chord falls to E | Csus4, which contains F and G |
A suspension is a rhythmic and voice-leading event, and it matters most at cadences, as the cadences and phrase endings article explains. A sus chord is a choice of sound, and a composer or arranger can place it anywhere. The non-chord tones article treats the suspension as one of several notes that sit outside the chord.
\nThe most common resolution of a sus4 is the fourth falling by a step to the third. In C, the F falls to E, and the chord arrives at C major:
\nThe movement is the same as a 4–3 suspension in the upper voice: a fourth above the root that falls to a third. Because the sus4 chord has no third, the E is the first third the ear hears after the fourth, and that arrival is why the move sounds like a release.
\nDsus4 does the same thing in D, and it is a common guitar chord. D, G and A are the root, a perfect fourth and a perfect fifth above D, and the G falls to F# to give D major.
\nCsus2 has no single standard resolution. Its D can rise to E, which gives C major, or fall to C. Many players use Csus2 as an open colour and leave it unresolved, particularly at the end of a phrase where the bass holds the root. In most contexts the fourth is heard as the more tense of the two, because it pulls harder toward the third.
\nCsus2 is C, D and G. Gsus4 is G, C and D. The two chords use the same three pitches, and what separates them is the bass. A Gsus4 with C at the bottom sounds like a Csus2 in root position, and a Csus2 with G at the bottom sounds like a Gsus4 in root position. The two symbols are inversions of one set of notes, which is why the bass decides the name as much as the notes do.
\nThis matters for reading lead sheets. When the symbol and the bass line disagree, the notes may fit the sus chord while the bass points to the other name, and the player has to decide which to follow.
\nA suspension is easiest to hear over a held bass. The classic case is a G chord with the C from the previous chord held over it. The C is a fourth above the G, so it clashes, and then it falls to B, the third of G.
\nThe first chord is C major in second inversion, with G in the bass and C in the top voice. In the second chord the bass stays on G, and the C is held in the top voice while the inner voices move. That C is the suspension: it sounds against the bass as a fourth. In the third chord it falls to B, which is the third of G, and the bass holds. The last chord returns to C major, with the bass moving from G to C. The inner voices move stepwise or hold, which keeps them clear of parallel fifths with the bass.
\nThe G7sus4 chord, which is G, C, D and F, contains the same fourth in root position. It is a dominant chord with a sus4 in place of the third, and because the fourth usually falls to the third, G7sus4 normally resolves to G7.
\nA sus chord is not automatically a dominant. Csus4 is a tonic-coloured chord in C, and it sounds open rather than unstable when the melody avoids E. A sus4 over a dominant bass, as in G7sus4, has a different function from a sus4 over the tonic, because the bass note decides the harmonic weight.
\nA sus chord also does not need to resolve. The name describes the notes, not the job. Popular and folk writing often ends a phrase on a sus4 and leaves the fourth in place, because the open sound is the point. Reading “sus” as an instruction to resolve will lead to unnecessary movement.
\nFinally, a suspension is not always written as a sus chord. In a four-part chorale, the held F in the soprano is a suspension, not a Csus4. The symbol appears only when the arranger wants the whole chord to sound open. Check the voice that holds the note before naming the chord.
\nPlay the first Csus4 to C pair and listen for the moment F falls to E. Then play Csus2 to C and compare the two. The fourth sounds like a question that the third answers; the second sounds like an open space that the third closes. Repeat the exercise with Dsus4 to D, which is a good shape to learn on the guitar, since many sus4 voicings are a major shape with one finger moved from the third to the fourth.
\nNext, take a four-chord loop such as C, G, Am and F, and replace the second chord with its sus4 form. Play the loop once with the sus4 resolved and once without, and decide which version the phrase needs. The virtual piano is enough for this, and it makes the difference between a resolved and an unresolved phrase easy to hear.
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