A Shape Barre Chords: Sus2

How to Play It

We'll start like a C Power Chord, but instead of muting the thinnest two strings, we press down with the barre. Take a look at the diagram:

Suspended chords sound very airy. They work well with distortion and crunch and sound great on the acoustic guitar. Let's talk a little bit more about them!

What Are Suspended Chords?

Major chords have three notes: the root note, the third note of the scale, and the fifth note of the scale. The only difference between a Major Chord and a Minor Chord is that the third note (the second note that I've described here) is one fret lower. You'll always notice that the difference between a Major Chord and a Minor Chord is just one note moving back one fret. That note is the keynote that decides whether the chord is Major or Minor.

Suspended chords take away the third, so you can think of "suspended" as meaning "take away the third and replace with" (because you can have sus2 and sus4). The chord we're looking at now is a sus2 chord, which means we took the third of the chord away and replaced it with the second degree of the scale.

👨‍🏫 We learn Suspended Chords in more detail in my Practical Music Theory Course. Check it out if you haven't already; the first grades are free!

In this lesson example, we're playing a C. The second note of a C Major Scale is the note D, so we've replaced the note E (which would be the Major) or an E flat (which would be the Minor) one lower with the note D.

Practically, Suspended Chords sound open and easy because they're neither Major nor Minor. I love the sound of a sus2 chord; they're very useful! There's much more about Suspended Chords in my Practical Music Theory Course, and I recommend you give it some attention.

When to Play Suspended Chords? Are They Better or Worst?

Suspended chords are just different - they're not better or worse. It's a choice! At the Intermediate level, you start to think, 'I could use this variation or that one.' Which one do you like the sound of? :)

You'll learn some songs where a specific sound is important, especially with Sus2 Chords because they're so airy. You'll find that there are songs where the sus2 chord is important to the song's vibe, and the Major or Minor won't sound right. But very often, it's the other way around where you can add this to give that song your flavor, your take on that song.

As an Intermediate Guitar Player, you're starting to discover your style, your taste in music, and what you might do to make your own vibe when you're doing a cover of a tune. So experiment! By far, the best way is to do it by ear - play it and see when it works and doesn't!

Suspended Chords very often work well with Power Chord tunes. So if you've got a song that is mostly Power Chords with a Root 5, you can try just popping the bar down and having a listen. Your ears will soon tell you if it doesn't sound right. :) There's nothing difficult about playing the Sus2 Chords; they're probably one of the easier of the A Shape Barre Chords, but it's a very useful one.