Nothing is more visceral than standing in front of a cranked amp and ripping out power chords. Famed string masher Ben Eller shows you the trade secrets behind getting your power chords in shape.
Suspended chords have a unique sound and play an important role in a variety of styles of music. A quick internet search will give you the basic theory, but few articles help you actually apply these ambiguous sounds. You see, these chords are neither major nor minor, so where do they fit in? Let’s find out.
What Is a Sus Chord?
Suspended chords are notated in shorthand with “sus,” and there are two types: a sus4, and a sus2. If you see a chord symbol that just says “Csus,” the implication is that the chord is a sus4. Starting with a basic C major triad (C–E–G) we simply move the 3 up a half step to the 4 of the scale (in this case, F). You end up with C–F–G, which is shown in Ex. 1. A word to the wise: Break down your major chord shapes and locate the 3. That is the note you need to move up one fret to turn it into a sus4 shape.
Suspended chords are typically the dominant chord in a key, also called the V chord. A Vsus4 chord creates musical tension and a sense of ambiguity. It will typically resolve back to the V chord and then resolve to the I chord. Look at Ex. 2 to see how this tension-release resolution sounds, and how it works on the guitar.
Dominant 7 chords can also be suspended as well. The process is the same, so your dominant 7 chord goes from 1–3–5–b7 to a 7sus4, which is spelled 1–4–5–b7. Ex. 3 shows some common C7sus4 to C7 voicings. You can find these dominant 7 suspended sounds in multiple styles and sub-styles of jazz, funk, and disco. Take a look at Ex. 4 to see some three-note voicings that are found in those styles.
Let’s continue with the C7sus4 sound, building it in a couple of different ways. The first is what is called a “polychord” (or sometimes a “change-bass” chord). If you play a Bb major triad over a C bass note, you have effectively built a chord that functions as C7sus4. It could be labeled as Bb/C and spelled C–Bb–D–F. This voicing is a very common sub for a traditional 7sus4 chord and has three of the four notes needed to create that sound. There’s no 5, but that’s ok. The 5 is a throwaway note when it’s not altered. The second way is to play a voicing that keeps the 3 and 4 but still sacrifices the 5, providing some interesting musical tension. Each of these voicings are seen in Ex. 5.
So, how do you play over a suspended chord?
Since a suspended chord functions as the V chord in a key, you would use the Mixolydian mode to play over that sound. Be careful to stay away from really bluesy guitar licks or running up and down the scale. Stick to sequences, patterns, or other structures, and listen to Ex. 6 for some possibilities.
The next couple of approaches use the Bb/C chord structure as inspiration. Remember that C7sus4 is the V chord in the key of F, and Bb is the IV chord in that key. Use that pair of triads to create your melodies since you have Bb–D–F and C–E–G at your disposal. If you line those notes up as a scale, you get C–D–E–F–G–Bb, which is just one note shy of the C Mixolydian mode. The difference is that you are organizing the notes in triads as opposed to a scale. Take a listen to Ex. 7 as one possibility on how to break up the triads while creating a solo.
Next, focus your solo on just the sound of the IV chord, or Bbmaj7. Experiment with limiting yourself to just the notes of the chord, Bb–D–F–A, and hear how they sound like the b7, 9, 11, and 13 of C7sus4. You can also loosen it up a bit, emphasizing those four notes while using some other scale tones, as heard in Ex. 8.
Last, but definitely not least, is to use the minor pentatonic that is a fifth above the root of your suspended chord. For C7sus4, you would play the G minor pentatonic scale, where G–Bb–C–D–F become the 5–b7–1–9–11 of the C7sus4 chord. This approach works really well since you have all the notes of your suspended chord, and the 9th for some added flavor. Again, blues licks probably won’t sound like you think. Try them out anyway just to hear that they don’t fit very well over a suspended sound. Take a listen to Ex. 9 for some non-blues pentatonic ideas.
Suspended chords have an open, undefined sound to them. They are neither major nor minor and need a slightly different approach when soloing to make it sound right. There are plenty of resources on triad pairs, pentatonic patterns, and hexatonic scales to keep you busy. Start with one approach and keep it simple.
There’s so much to explore when you decide to dip your toes into altered tunings.
There’s so much to explore when you decide to dip your toes into altered tunings. The jangly beauty of DADGAD and the new shapes found in open E and open C offers new inspiration. Caitlin Caggiano teaches you not only the easiest way to get into these tunings, but also a few handy shapes that will kickstart your playing today.
Don’t settle for those vanilla open-string shapes. Here’s a way to unlock new sounds without difficult barre chords.
Once you have the “Cowboy” chords together there are thousands of songs that are suddenly under you hands. But what if you want to make those chords a bit more interesting? Barre chords cat be stretchy and difficult, but there are ways to create new sounds out of old chords.
Improving time feel is crucial for any guitarist, as it forms the backbone of musical groove and rhythm.An effective method is to practice with drum loops or backing tracks, which can add a more musical context than a metronome. Focus on locking in with the groove and internalizing the pulse. Playing along with recordings of skilled musicians also helps absorb their sense of time and groove. Check out a few tips from Tom Butwin that will undoubtedly get your time together.
The major blues scale is such a vital scale for guitarists to learn to add color, dimension, and emotion to their solos. Here are the three simple steps to mapping the scale across the fretboard.
The first step to form the blueprint is to find the 5 CAGED shapes in the right key, which for our example will be the key of C. These shapes will serve as the foundation to form the scale.
Next, we will plug in the notes of C major pentatonic (C–D-E-G-A) into each of the CAGED shapes. Finally, we add the b3 (Eb) to finish off the major blues scale.
These three steps will allow you to easily form a blueprint of the blues scale across the fretboard—in any key.