SUS chords

[bblaedorn]

I am a newbie to both the mandolin and music theory. I am having a difficult time understanding exactly what a SUS chord is. Could someone please dumb down this concept for me. Specifically what would Dsus4 and 2 chords be?

So, if D is 2002 what would Dsus2 and 4 be and why?

Thanks so much! :whistling:

[wadeyankey]

I'll give this a try, but someone else around here would probably do it better. A suspended chord is a chord that has the 3rd altered either up to the 4th or down to the 2nd. In D(an often suspended chord)

D- D F# A
Dsus2- D E A
Dsus4- D G A

This is different than if you had these notes in addition to the third, which would then give you an "add 9" or "add 11" chord

D- D F# A
D add 9- D F# A E
D add 11- D F# A G

Hope this helps.

Wade

[Ted Eschliman]

Here are some great threads from the past that illuminate this very popular, albeit confusing theory topic:

Sus Chords, Add 9 (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24116&highlight=suspended)
A7 sus (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44690&highlight=suspended)
What is an a2, f2 (etc) chord? (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35894&highlight=suspended)
F#sus5th chord? (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26385&highlight=suspended)

You'll find a tremendous amount of misconceptions and disagreements out there about Sus chord nomenclature, but keep in mind, it's called "music theory."

Not "music science."

[EdHanrahan]

[QUOTE=bblaedorn;657160]So, if D is 2002 what would Dsus2 and 4 be...
/QUOTE]

IF, like many or most of us, you started as a guitar player (and I ignored music theory for decades!), you know the open D chord, with the 3-note (F#) on the 2nd fret of the high E string. It's easy to replace it with the 2 (E) note by lifting your middle finger to play the first string open, or with the 4 (G) note by fretting the 3rd fret with your pinky.

Mando's 1st string is still an E, just an octave higher, so the all note relationships are the same: play 2000 for Dsus2, and 2003 for Dsus4.

Such suspended chords are often just passing tones within a longer-enduring D major. On guitar, it's easy to play a "sub-melody" on the D, E, F#, and G notes without moving from the D-major chord fingering. (The Byrds' version of "Bells of Rhymney" is a prime example). On mando, it's only marginally more difficult to get your pinky over to the D note on 2nd-string 5th-fret.

[MT_player]

I always understood sus chords as a chord in which the third has been swapped for another note. In the case of the sus4, the fourth note of the scale is used. In a sus2 the second note is used.

i.e.
C scale=C, D, E, F, G, A, B
C major= C-E-G
C sus4= C-F-G
C sus2= C-D-G

If the third is present, then I would describe the chord using upper extension terminology.

i.e.
Cadd9 or Cmaj9= C, E, G, (B), D the B is in parentheses because in jazz theory it is assumed that if 9ths, 11ths, or 13ths are present, then the seventh is also present.

One thing to keep in mind when finding voicings on mandolin or guitar: not all the notes in the chord need to be played. Often, the root can be dropped as well as the fifth, the bass player should have those covered. Leave it to the soloist to play the 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. Many of the voicings that I play use only the third and seventh of the chord, especially in dominant sus chords where the suspended note will resolve to the third of the chord, i.e. C7sus4 can be played F-Bb going to E-Bb.

Good Luck!

[Chris Keth]

Once you've learned about them from these fine teachers, strum a nice major chord, then the sus2, then the sus 4 and you'll see the chord progression to a whole bunch of songs. "I'll Feel a WHole Lot Better" by the Byrds has entire passages just played with A, Asus2, and Asus4