Suspended chord
A suspended chord (sus chord) is a chord in which the third is omitted, replaced usually with either a perfect fourth (
play (help·info)) or a major second ( play (help·info)),[2] although the fourth is far more common. The lack of a minor or a major third in the chord creates an open sound, while the tension between the fourth and fifth or second and first creates dissonance.
The term is borrowed from the contrapuntal technique of suspension, where a note from a previous chord is carried over to the next chord, and then resolved down to the third or tonic, suspending a note from the previous chord. However, in modern usage, the term concerns only the notes played at a given time; in a suspended chord the added tone does not necessarily resolve, and is not necessarily "prepared" (i.e., held over) from the prior chord. As such, in C-F-G, F would resolve to E, but in rock and popular music, "the term is used to indicate only the harmonic structure, with no implications about what comes before or after," though preparation of the fourth occurs about half the time and traditional resolution of the fourth occurs usually.[3] In modern jazz, a third can be added to the chord voicing, as long as it is above the fourth.[4]
Each suspended chord has two inversions. Suspended second chords are inversions of suspended fourth chords, and vice versa. For example, Gsus2 (G-A-D) is the first inversion of Dsus4 (D-G-A) which is the second inversion of Gsus2 (G-A-D). The sus2 and sus4 chords both have an inversion that creates a quartal chord with two stacked perfect fourths.
Suspended fourth and second chords can be represented, in integer notation, as {0, 5, 7} and {0, 2, 7} respectively. The second inversion (quartal chord) is {0, 5, 10}.
Sevenths on suspended chords are "virtually always minor sevenths", while the 9sus chord is similar to an eleventh chord and may be notated as such.[3] For example C9sus (C, F, G, B♭, D) may be notated C11 (C, —, G, B♭, D, F).
Examples in popular music
Suspended chords are commonly found in folk music and popular music. An example can be found in the piece "One Short Day", part of the Wicked musical by Stephen Schwartz, which starts with a descending arpeggio of a suspended chord. In rock, the verse of The Who song "Pinball Wizard" is a sequence of suspended fourth chords resolving to their major counterparts (Bsus4-B Asus4-A etc.). Another example is John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", where the sequence is of majors progressing to suspended second, then fourth, then back to the original (A-Asus2-Asus4-A)). In pop/synth-pop, Erasure's "A Little Respect" employs major to suspended changes in much of the song's harmonization. Another example with major to suspended progression is Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory". The last chord of the first bridge of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" is an unresolved suspended chord, the introduction and chorus of Shocking Blue's "Venus" each contain an unresolved suspended chord, and the introduction of Chicago's "Make Me Smile" has two different suspended chords without traditional resolution.[3]
Jazz sus chord
A jazz sus chord[4][6] or dominant 9sus4 chord is a seventh chord on the fifth scale degree of the key with a suspended fourth and an added ninth. Functionally, it can be written as V9sus4 or V7sus9.
The dominant 9sus4 has a perfect fourth rather than a major third and is called a sus4 chord rather than an 11th, though it may also be called a slash chord (A9sus4 = G/A).[7] [A9sus4 = ADEGB = G/A = AGBD] Chord factors include 1-♭7-9-11 or 1-4-♭7-9, not 1-4-5 (a sus4 chord with no third).[8] Although the suspended fourth is not always resolved down to a third, the note is still not usually notated as an eleventh because of the chord's function as a cadence point.
References
- ↑ Hawkins, Stan (2008). "Prince: Harmonic analysis of 'Anna Stesia'". Popular Music 11 (3): 325–35. JSTOR 931313.
- ↑ Ellis, Andy (October 2006). "EZ Street: Sus-Chord Mojo". Guitar Player.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-300-09239-4.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Humphries, Carl (2002). The Piano Handbook. p. 129. ISBN 0-87930-727-7.
- ↑ Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-300-09239-4.
- ↑ Levine, Mark (1989). The Jazz Piano Book. Sher Music. p. 23. ISBN 0-9614701-5-1. "Dm7/G describes the function of the sus chord, because a sus chord is like a ii-V progression contained in one chord. The ii-V progression in the key of C is Dm7, G7."
- ↑ Buckingham, Bruce; Paschal, Eric (1997). Rhythm Guitar: The Complete Guide. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7935-8184-9.
- ↑ Coryell, Larry (1998). Jazz Guitar. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-87930-550-5.