Sus4 Chords Theory
Sus4's are great for creating "tension" in music.
| Character of the chord
A sus4 chord feels unresolved. They create "direction" in the harmony, and are a popular choice amongst modern day songwriters (generally being prefered to the dominant 7th {eg. C7} as 7th's can make a song feel quite "dated").
Notation
These chords are usually notated "sus4", so C major sus 4 would be written "Csus4". Occasionally the "sus" is omitted to leave just "C4".
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Csus4 notated
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Theory - how to work out a sus 4 chord.
Firstly, you'll need to work out the major chord. If you're not sure how to do this, please refer to notes on the major chord page on this. Next, add one semitone to the middle note of the chord.
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Esus4 major chord
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Foe example, let's say you were trying to work out Esus4. Begin by finding the notes of E major. These are E - G# - B. The next step is to go to the middle note (G#) and add one step (up). This gets you to A. So Esus4 is E - A - B.
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"Sus 4" are short for "suspended forths". A "Sus4" chord will often "resolve" onto it's major chord, with the forth note droping down to the third. For instance, Csus4 to C major (here the "F" note resolves to the "E"). Notice how we feel that the "C major" chord seems to complete and finish the sound. "Sus4" can be used very effectively just before the finish of a song, or a section to a song.
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"Sus4" chords can be combined with "7th" chords to create further tension in music. Try playing Csus4/7 to C and you'll see what I mean. Csus4/7= C - F - G - Bb, then C= C - E - G.
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