Suspended chord

A suspended chord takes an ordinary triad, removes the third, and puts the 2nd or the 4th in its place. The third is the note that decides major or minor, so a sus chord is neither, and it often sounds like it is waiting to move.

Sus2 and sus4 in C major

• Csus2 is C D G. The D sits a whole step above the root. It sounds airy and bare, and it can hang for bars at a time without needing to go anywhere.
• Csus4 is C F G. The F sits a half step above the missing E, and your ear wants it to fall. Csus4 to C, with F dropping to E, is the classic resolution.
• Plain “Csus” on a chord chart means Csus4.

The name comes from older counterpoint. A note from one chord is held over (suspended) into the next chord, clashes for a moment, then steps down onto a chord tone. In classical theory, the F falling to E is a 4-3 suspension, named for the 4th that falls to the 3rd.

In A minor, the same pull shows up on the V chord. Esus4 is E A B; let the A fall to G# and you have E major (E G# B), which leads straight home to Am.

Where you meet sus chords

A common spot is the V chord at the end of a phrase, where a sus4 delays the cadence and makes the arrival feel bigger: G, Gsus4, G, C in C major. Guitarists find them on the open D chord (xx0232). Lift the finger off the high E string (xx0230) for Dsus2, or put the pinky on the 3rd fret of the high E string (xx0233) for Dsus4.

Gelato Synth has Sus2 and Sus4 on the chord-type row in its Chords mode, which switches every pad at once. On Gelato Chord, pulling the VOICING wheel down opens the chord you hold out toward sus sounds.

For more on how the two differ, and where add9 fits, read Sus2 vs Sus4 Chords (and Add9).