Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Guitar Amps
  • Plugin Week 25
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Artist news
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • Drums
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Plugin Week A-Z
  • You Oughta Know
  • Fake AI band
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Wrecking Crew
Recommended reading
Woman playing on a digital piano with headphones on
Music Theory And Songwriting Technically capable, but struggle to make your tunes sound musical? 5 simple music theory hacks to make your tracks stand out
George Harrison
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials How to play like George Harrison on The Beatles' Abbey Road
Circle of fifths
Music Theory And Songwriting The ultimate guide to the circle of fifths and how it can help you make better music
Home studio
Music Theory And Songwriting You don't need to be a music theory expert to make electronic music, but it helps - here's our guide to the basics
Music theory basics: understanding intervals, and how they define the distance in pitch between two notes
Music Theory And Songwriting 10 music theory tricks every producer and songwriter should know
David Gilmour
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials How to play guitar like David Gilmour: Bluesy diads, slides, quarter-tone blues curls and more
Paul McCartney
Artists The lesser-heard theory tricks that lay behind the magic of the Beatles' Yesterday
  1. Tutorials
  2. Guitar Lessons & Tutorials
  3. Guitar Chords

30-day guitar challenge, day 13: Learn suspended chords

Tuition
By Adrian Clark ( Guitarist ) published 13 August 2015

Sus4 and sus2 shapes sussed out

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Esus2

Esus2

30-day guitar challenge: The sus4 is a familiar seasoning to many a chord progression, but why not look further into suspensions?

There are two basic types, the suspended 4th and the suspended 2nd (sus2). Here’s a simple, if stretchy, sus2 shape.

Page 1 of 4
Page 1 of 4
A9sus4

A9sus4

This 9sus4 has a lovely jazzy, Steely Dan kind of sound. Shift it up three frets for a mid-70s Motown feel.

Unlike a standard sus4, it’s in no hurry to resolve to a straight major chord.

Page 2 of 4
Page 2 of 4
G7sus4

G7sus4

Is it? No, it isn’t! Sharp-eared archivists have established that the Hard Day’s Night chord is a lot more complex than this, with several layers. It’s not bad as a compromise, though.

Page 3 of 4
Page 3 of 4
Esus#4

Esus#4

You can theoretically also suspend the augmented 4th (the tritone) for this menacing metal-friendly sound.

Perfect for soloing over with E Lydian (E F# G# A# B C# D#).

Page 4 of 4
Page 4 of 4
Adrian Clark
Read more
Woman playing on a digital piano with headphones on
Technically capable, but struggle to make your tunes sound musical? 5 simple music theory hacks to make your tracks stand out
George Harrison
How to play like George Harrison on The Beatles' Abbey Road
Circle of fifths
The ultimate guide to the circle of fifths and how it can help you make better music
Home studio
You don't need to be a music theory expert to make electronic music, but it helps - here's our guide to the basics
Music theory basics: understanding intervals, and how they define the distance in pitch between two notes
10 music theory tricks every producer and songwriter should know
David Gilmour
How to play guitar like David Gilmour: Bluesy diads, slides, quarter-tone blues curls and more
Latest in Guitar Chords
Music Theory
How learning and understanding chord symbols can prove a major benefit for sharing your musical ideas
Woman playing a guitar chord on an acoustic guitar
Get strumming: The 22 essential beginner, blues and folk guitar chords every guitarist should learn first
Billie Joe Armstrong
"You can learn hundreds of songs with a few easy chords and some basic rhythm playing chops"
A man plays acoustic guitar with a capo on the neck
How to use tried and tested chord progressions when crafting your song
A man plays a chord on an acoustic guitar in a stylish, light home environment. Window behind provides a space for copy
How to understand and use suspended chords
Julian Lage
“There are so many hurdles guitar players get into that are attributed to knowing 30% of the neck. Just map it out - it takes a week”: Julian Lage unlocks the secret of mastering guitar
Latest in Tuition
Plugins
How to get famous sounds and effects using only Logic’s stock plugins
Plugin Chains
How to emulate a classic analogue recording system entirely with plugins
Odin 2
Fantastic (free) plugins and how to use them: The Wave Warden Odin 2
ableton
8 things you can do with Ableton Live's updated Auto Filter device
Native Instruments Raum
How to use reverb to build impressive-sounding filters, reverses, risers and pads
mixing desk
“Learning how to mix is almost as important as hitting on your original musical idea”: New to the mixing process? Start here

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...