What are sus chords on the piano? In a nutshell, it’s when you substitute the third in a chord with the second or fourth. In this lesson, we’ll explain sus chords in detail and give you some examples of how they’re used in music.
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Before we dive into sus chords, let’s review how triads work.
A triad is a three-note chord that consists of a root, a third, and a fifth. For example, this is a C Major triad:
“Sus” is short for suspended. So, to make a sus chord, we “suspend” the third in the triad and substitute it with the second or fourth note from the root.
When we substitute with the second, the chord is a sus2. When we substitute with the fourth, the chord is a sus4. Here’s a Csus2 and a Csus4 chord:
Here’s another example: an Esus2 and an Esus4. The F is sharped in Esus2 because we use the root (E) as our key reference and E Major has F#, C#, G#, and D#.
Sus chords sound interesting because they have an ambiguous sound. The third in a triad is usually what determines whether a chord is major or minor. By removing it and substituting it with a different note, we end up with something that is neither. This creates some interesting harmonic possibilities.
Sus chords aren’t as popular in classical music as they are in jazz and pop, but the principle was alive back in the day. For example, Bach uses suspended notes in his famous Prelude in C Minor. The prelude is decidedly minor throughout the piece, but ends on a C Major chord (a technique called the tierce de picardie). The lead up to the C Major chord is a drawn-out sus chord that finally resolves to the major third. Watch a demonstration of this here.
The sus chord concept can be applied to jazz’s favorite type of chord: the 7th chord. Usually, sus notes are applied to dominant 7th chords. Again, the third of the chord is substituted with a 2nd or 4th. Here’s a G7sus4 chord, the dominant 7th chord of C Major:
Playing all these notes too close together can sound muddy, so many jazz musicians recommend spreading out your notes (open voicing).
The most common jazz progression is the ii7-V7-I7. It so happens that the V7 sus chord has a lot in common with the ii7 chord and the V7 chords. Therefore, it can be used to reharmonize the ii7 or the V7. It can also be used as a transitional chord between them. Or to resolve directly to the I7 chord. You can watch a demonstration of this here or see the grand staff example below:
Standard ii7-V7-I7 Progression
Altered Progression With G7sus4 Reharmonization
A jazz track famous for its use of sus chords is Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage.” Listen to the opening riff and you’ll hear the signature ambiguity of the sus chord sound.
We hope you enjoy this lesson on sus chords! Check out these other popular chording lessons if you want to learn more:
Happy practicing!
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