I love the sound of suspended chords and have used them in my own music. So what is a suspended chord? First let’s take a look at the basic C Major chord on the treble staff and on the piano keyboard below…
Now let’s make it a suspended chord by removing the third degree of the chord, in this case (E) and replacing it with the fourth degree (F) known as a sus 4 or the second degree (D) known as a sus 2, see below…
Doing so changes the sound of this C Major chord to a C suspended chord. Now try playing these chords on your piano or keyboard. You’ll notice how the sus chords sound a bit more unresolved, tense or haunting.
Until next time practice changing Major triads into suspended chords.