Suspended Chords
Lesson 14 from: Music Theory Essentials: Chords, Scales and ModesTomas George
Suspended Chords
Lesson 14 from: Music Theory Essentials: Chords, Scales and ModesTomas George
Lesson Info
14. Suspended Chords
Lessons
Scales Introduction
03:08 2Working out a Major Scale
06:45 3Working out a Major Key from a Melody
05:51 4Major Keys and Scales
01:54 5Major Scale on a Score
02:56 6Triads
03:37 7Inversions
03:21 8Working out the Chords in a Major Scale
09:27Different Ways to Write out Chords
04:11 10Working out Major and Minor Triads
07:01 11Diminished and Augmented Triads
05:22 127th Chords
12:16 13Extended Chords
06:34 14Suspended Chords
06:02 15The Circle of 5ths
12:48 16How to Change Key
14:54 17Natural Minor Scale
11:21 18Chords in the Minor Scale
05:59 19Harmonic Minor Scale
07:15 20Melodic Minor Scale
11:12 21Modes
03:54 22Ionian Mode
00:47 23Dorian Mode
03:14 24Phrygian Mode
03:14 25Lydian Mode
01:21 26Mixolydian Mode
02:11 27Aeolian Mode
01:03 28Locrian Mode
03:56 29Section introduction
00:17 30Song Analysis 1 - Capsize
15:25 31Song Analysis 2 - Floating
18:07Lesson Info
Suspended Chords
OK. Now let's have a look at suss cords or suspended chords. So with suss cords, all we're really doing is replacing the third for either 1/4 to make a Suss four cord or the second to make a suss two chord. SU S four is a lot more common than Suss two. So if someone says play a SUS chord, then normally will mean a sus fourth chord. But suss two can also be used, you can use Suss codes or suspended chords for a few different reasons. So the most common way is to add a bit of tension or suspension. So for example, if I play ac major chord, now, if I wanted to add a bit of tension, I could replace this E it's third with 1/4 an F and then resolve it by playing the C major. So I could play the Suss chord and then resolve it by playing the normal triad also with the suss two chord. So I can add a bit of tension with the C too resolve it with a triad. So it's just a quick little way to add a bit of suspension and replace your triad. Replace your regular cord with the suss cord and then go dow...
n to the triad if you're replacing it with a sus fourth chord and go up from the triad, if you're replacing it with a Sus two chord. So that's the traditional way of using a SUS cord. Also, you'll notice if you're playing a suss chord, we can't actually tell if this is major or minor. We're playing the root note, a perfect fourth and a perfect fifth, which can be used in a major or a minor chord. So we're not actually sure if we're in a major key or a minor key, same with a second. So we have the group, the second and the fifth, the second is the same for major and minor. So if we have a selection of different chords, let's say, for example, a G source four and then ad plus two and then ac plus four, I'm not actually sure if this is C major or C minor could be either. So it's an easy way to add some ambiguity into your music. So we're kind of losing the feeling of a major key or a minor key. So it can sound quite mysterious at times, but it really depends on what you're trying to create with your music. So the more traditional way is to just use it to resolve, so replace your triad and then play your triad. So we can go downwards with a SS four. So I'm just playing an inverted G, then AC plus four and then AC or you can go upwards with a sea sauce too. So I'm going to play a, a minor then it sees us too. And the sea. So you could just hold it for longer as well. If you want to add even more tension, then you can eventually resolve it to the triad. And the same with a sus too, you can hold it for longer. Repeat it, add tension to build up. So this could be good for a build up, for example. So that's the traditional way is to use it to kind of add suspension, add tension to your music and then resolve it when you play your triad. So right now, we don't know if we're playing in a major key or a minor key. I'm just playing a combination of different suss chords. So we've got a suss four chord, a suss two chord. Uh So two chord. So this could be C major or C minor. So only when we reveal the third that we know if we're in a major or minor, for example, this third here, which is a E flat means we're in C minor. If we have a e natural, this means we're in C major. However, we don't have any notes that means we're in a major or minor. We play either a suss four or a Sus two. So that's another useful way of using a suss chord to add some ambiguity into your music. You also notice that previously, when we've looked at chords, we've actually stacked them in thirds. So we have a major the seventh, the nine, an 11th and the 13th. If you notice they all stack in thirds, but the suss chords don't stack in third. So these sus cords don't really have a strong root note actually, when you invert these cords. So I'm just going to invert this CSS four, reverse it again. This doesn't really sound like ac chord anymore. So we invert them and we move them around. We're kind of morphing them into new chords. So there isn't really a strong foundation of these chords, which is why they can sound quite mysterious, ambiguous and can add tension because there isn't really a grounding to these chords. They're not stacked in thirds. Like previously, we have a route, 1/4 and 1/5. We have a route a 2nd and 1/5. So they're not as strong as difficult, but they can have a use. So that's it. That's what SUSS codes are most commonly, most commonly used is a SUS four. But you can also use a SUS two. All we're really doing is moving this third and replacing it with either 1/4 or a second. And the third is really where the sense of a major or minor cord comes from. When you remove that, the chord sounds a lot more open which is why suss chords can be described as open chords because they don't have a strong sense of major or minor to them. So, thank you for watching this lecture and I'll see you in the next one.
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