Suspended

Suspended fourth chords

A suspended-fourth triad: R, 4, 5 (C-F-G). The 4th replaces the 3rd, removing the major/minor identity and creating an open, unresolved sound that traditionally wants to fall (F to E) but in modern jazz is left hanging as a stable color.

In every key

The same shape, moved. The symbols below are spelled the way the app spells them, which is the spelling the chord's own scale asks for rather than whichever accidental is easier to type.

  • Csus4
  • Dbsus4
  • Dsus4
  • Ebsus4
  • Esus4
  • Fsus4
  • F#sus4
  • Gsus4
  • Absus4
  • Asus4
  • Bbsus4
  • Bsus4

Voicings

Written in C, because that is the key the encyclopedia authors them in; every one transposes unchanged.

Root Position

C · F · G

beginner

LH or RH 1-2-5 on C-F-G. Resolve F down to E if you want the classic suspension.

Quartal Stack

C · F · G · C

intermediate

C-F as the structural fourth, then G and the upper C. Voice it so the fourth rings clearest.

Where it turns up

Folk and pop intros, modal vamps, and as a stable open sonority in contemporary jazz where it no longer needs to resolve. The classic '4-3 suspension' when it does resolve to C major.

Commonly swapped with

  • No 3rd, so ambiguous between major and minor
  • Often pairs with or resolves to Cmaj or C6