Suspended Chords: Sus2 and Sus4
A suspended chord takes an ordinary triad and swaps its third for a neighbour, the second (sus2) or the fourth (sus4). Since the third is the note that decides major or minor, a sus chord is neither: Csus2 is C, D, G and Csus4 is C, F, G, both open and hanging, waiting to resolve. That in-between quality makes them a favourite for adding movement and colour.
Drill sus chords by playing them
See a sus2 or sus4, play it, know instantly if you nailed it. No download, no signup. MIDI keyboard or microphone.
▶ Try ChordRunner Free Free in the browser - build a suspended chord pool and go.What gets suspended in a sus chord
The name is literal: the third of the chord is suspended, lifted out of the way and replaced by the note just above or below it. Replace it with the second and you get sus2; replace it with the fourth and you get sus4. Nothing else changes, the root and fifth stay put, so a sus chord always sits right next to the plain major or minor it came from, one small step away.
That is why they sound unfinished in a good way. With no third, your ear cannot label the chord happy or sad, so it stays curious, leaning toward the resolution it expects. You hear that lean in the crunching sus4 of the Who's Pinball Wizard and in a thousand acoustic-guitar intros that flick a finger on and off the fourth.
Build any suspended chord
Toggle sus2 or sus4, pick a root, and watch the three notes light up. The third is gone; a neighbour takes its place.
Sus2 versus sus4
The two suspensions pull in opposite directions. Sus2 replaces the third with the second (Csus2 = C D G) and sounds bright, airy and modern. Sus4 replaces it with the fourth (Csus4 = C F G) and sounds tense and eager, leaning up toward the third it is missing. A neat trick worth knowing: they are the same chord seen from a different root. Csus2 rearranged is Gsus4, so learning one quietly teaches you the other.
Resolving suspensions
A suspension is a promise the ear expects you to keep. The classic move is to let the suspended note step to the third: in a sus4, the fourth drops to the third (F to E over a C root); in a sus2, the second rises to the third (D to E). Play Csus4 then C major and you hear the whole idea in two chords, the tension and its release. You do not have to resolve them, plenty of modern music leaves sus chords hanging for effect, but knowing the resolution is what lets you use them on purpose. It pairs naturally with chord training on the plain triads they resolve into.
Practise suspended chords in the game
Open the game and build a Custom pool of sus2 and sus4 chords across all 12 roots, then play each on your MIDI keyboard or into your microphone. The game tells you instantly whether the shape was right, and mixing sus2 with sus4 trains the small but real difference between them. Free in the browser, nothing to install.
Common questions
What is a suspended chord?
A suspended chord replaces the third of a triad with a neighbouring note: the second (sus2) or the fourth (sus4). Because the third is what makes a chord major or minor, a sus chord is neither. Csus2 is C D G and Csus4 is C F G, both open and unresolved sounding.
What is the difference between sus2 and sus4?
Which note replaces the third. Sus2 uses the second (Csus2 is C D G) and sounds bright and open. Sus4 uses the fourth (Csus4 is C F G) and sounds tense, leaning upward. The two are actually inversions of each other: Csus2 is Gsus4 rearranged.
How do suspended chords resolve?
The suspended note usually steps to the third. In a sus4, the fourth falls to the third (F to E in C). In a sus2, the second rises to the third (D to E). That movement is the point: a sus chord creates a small tension that resolves into the plain major or minor chord.
How do I practise suspended chords?
Drill sus2 and sus4 in all 12 keys with instant feedback. In ChordRunner you can build a Custom pool of suspended chords and play them on a MIDI keyboard or through your microphone, getting told immediately whether each shape was right.