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Thread: G sus chord?

  1. #1
    Registered User Nick Royal's Avatar
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    Default G sus chord?

    What is a G sus chord? How to play one; and the notes
    in a sustained chord.
    thanks,
    Nick

  2. #2
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    G7sus 4 mando simple: 0031 [piano, GCDF] (used a book I had and the internet)
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    There are two kinds of basic suspended (not "sustained") chord:
    Suspended 2, which in the case of a G chord would be GAD instead of GBD
    and
    Suspended 4, which in the case of G would be GCD instead of GBD.
    As you can see, a suspended chord substitutes the 2nd or the 4th for the 3rd of a chord. The resulting chord is neither major (GBD) nor minor (GBbD) ... it leaves the listener "suspended", you could say, unsure what the basic mood of the chord is.
    There are extended versions of sus chords, made up of the basic sus triad plus extensions. So for example G7 sus 4 would be GCDF.
    The suspended 4 is much more common than sus 2, so usually if you see a chord written simply as Gsus, it's a sus 4 chord. If it's a sus 2, that will usually be written out (Gsus2).

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    Registered User Tom Wright's Avatar
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    Usually means suspending above the 3rd, that is sus 4. (This feels unresolved, which is why it is called a suspension. It "wants" to relax to the regular chord.)

    On mandolin I would tend to use 0-5-3-3 or 7-5-3-3, or to highlight the supension, drop the high note on the E string and let the C be the high note, as in 0-5-3-x or 7-5-3-x.

    The D (the 5th in the chord) is less important than the suspension note, the C, so one doesn't miss it if you like the low G for a bass note.
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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    0033.
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    Registered User Nick Royal's Avatar
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    Thanks everyone, re: the G sus chord. I will use two down in the 3 fret area.
    Nick

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    Oval holes are cool David Lewis's Avatar
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    Suspended chords are lovely. To get one sense of how they're used, listen to pinball wizard by the who. Crazy little thing called love by queen opens with them and honky Toni women by the rollin stones uses them a lot.
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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    Quote Originally Posted by David Lewis View Post
    Suspended chords are lovely. To get one sense of how they're used, listen to pinball wizard by the who. .
    good example!

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    bon vivant jaycat's Avatar
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    Or... Honky Tonk Women...
    "The paths of experimentation twist and turn through mountains of miscalculations, and often lose themselves in error and darkness!"
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nick Royal View Post
    What is a G sus chord? How to play one; and the notes
    in a sustained chord.
    thanks,
    Nick
    I don't know how to play it, but I do know it's God's favorite chord. ..... Think about it.

  15. #11
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    Default Re: G sus chord?

    Although on the mandolin it is easier to omit the 3rd you do not have to for a sus 4 chord. Originally, sus 4 chords were used when a chord with the 4th was in the previous chord and the 4th was held over (suspended) in the harmony of the next chord. Although that is still the case sometimes, frequently the 4th isn't really suspended but added making it a +4 chord.

  16. #12

    Default Re: G sus chord?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nevin View Post
    Although on the mandolin it is easier to omit the 3rd you do not have to for a sus 4 chord. Originally, sus 4 chords were used when a chord with the 4th was in the previous chord and the 4th was held over (suspended) in the harmony of the next chord. Although that is still the case sometimes, frequently the 4th isn't really suspended but added making it a +4 chord.
    A sus4 chord does NOT have a third. The 4 is there INSTEAD of the 3. If you wanted both the 3 and the 4 it would be called "add 4". Using a plus sign (as in +4) is not a good idea, because the plus sign means augmented, not added.

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