Suspended Chords

A suspended chord is a chord that replaces the third with the fourth. The G chord is G, B, D. The Gsus4 chord would be created by replacing the third with the fourth. So the Gsus4 chord is G,C,D.

The term suspended means that we aren't quite at the chord. So when do we use it? Well, let's use the example from above of a Gsus4 chord. Let's say that we are going from a C chord to a G chord. Playing the Gsus4 with the C in place of the B, let's hold on to the C chord just a little bit longer while still hinting at the change to the G chord. As you can probably guess, suspended chords aren't really useful for starting or ending a musical phrase, but are great as transitional chords within a phrase.

You can also have a suspended 2 chord. A suspended 2 chord replaces the third with the second instead of the fourth. So the Gsus2 chord would be G, A, D. So now you know a little about suspended chords. Try adding them to your chord progressions for a little variety.

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