Suspended chords?

james sluder · From: Tennessee, USA

Im sure someone can tell me how to make a suspended chord ! I hear them in a lot of song's & there really pretty ,,but im having trouble finding how to make them . I would be greatfull for any help here !

Thanks !

Jim !!

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Easy Sus4. Open fret no pedals, say G at the 3rd. fret. Pedal in just the 6th string. That's raising the 3rd tone of the triad, B to a C which is the 4th tone. It's suspended 'til you let off the pedal. IOW, it's a temporary voicing of the 4th scale tone.

At the E fret open no bar no pedals, 6th string G# to A same thing, same pedal if that's easier to see.

There are others like a sus 2 etc., that I'm sure others will explain, but one at a time is easier to assimilate.

As an example, if you're familiar with Eagle's tune, New Kid in Town, Key of E, play the G#Sus4 at the 4th fret on the way to the C#minor chorus.

Clete Ritta · From: San Antonio, Texas

An easy way to think of suspended chords is the altering of the third in a 1,3,5 chord. If you raise the third to a fourth, its a sus4. If you lower it to a second, its a sus2. Some are already in the open tuning. Playing strings 8,6,5 is an E. Strings 8,7,5 in open tuning create an E sus2 chord. Strings 5,4,1 in open tuning create a B sus4. Stacked fourths create a sus4 too, so strings 7,5,4 in open tuning create a B sus4.

As mentioned, the B pedal by itself is also an easy way to get a sus4 chord. It raises the third of the common E major chord grips on strings 3 and 6 to a fourth creating a sus4 chord.

Clete

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

The "B" pedal also gives the sus2 chord. Open on strings 3,4,5,6,8,10 you get an Asus2 with just the B pedal, or letting off the A pedal in the pedals down position.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

James, you'll get a lot more mileage if you learn/think of it in scalar/chord tones as in Clete's post, rather than as a specific pedal position. In other words, wherever you have a third of the major scale, a half step above that is the forth note (with pedal or bar movement). So anywhere you know a scale you can find how to move a third to a fourth. And so on with every other chord type.

Dick Sexton · From: Greenville, Ohio

Pedal up position, add the B pedal for a Sus4th
Pedal down position, raise the A pedal leaving the B pedal for a Sus2nd

So the B pedal is the key, pedal up or pedal down?

Looking at it in the most simple way...

Don Brown, Sr. · From: New Jersey

Richard, unless I'm wrong, I think you might want to think about that for a moment or two.

I think that's a good way to really confuse folks, but I could be wrong in my theory.

How about it being a Sus4.

Dick, I see why you're confused. If you have your A pedal down and you let it up, but keep the B pedal down, it's still a Sus4.

Letting off the A pedal, keeping the B down, is the same as just using the B pedal.

I know you know this, but I don't think Richard has it right. The A pedal 1/2 down, gives an Aug, and all the way down, gives you a Minor.

B Pedal down, is raising the 3rd 1/2 a tone up to a 4 for the Sus4.

Darn, now I've went and confused myself. Laughing

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Dick Sexton · From: Greenville, Ohio

Then I had it correct. Correct? Or wrong, if playing it out of context. Correct?

B pedal down would be a:

..Sus4 if played at the 8th fret in the key of "C"
..Sus2 if played at the 5th fret in the key of "D"

Assuming the obvious, Standard Emmons E9th..

Bazinga! Wink

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Yeah, Dick you had it right. Very Happy

Joe Savage · From: St. Paul, MN

Referring to Tucker's previous post. That's also a B7sus4. The A note being the 7, the B the root and the E being the raised 3rd.

Try these as well; For instance, play wide grip 4-6-10 with AB down. Now play 4-6-9 AB. Voila. Suspended 4. Now, any position 5-6-8 AF combo. Then 5-6-7. Suspended 4 again. Of course you can find thes same notes with the higher voiced string sets, but the notes don't stack as well and aren't as pleasing, at least to my ear. For instance, 6-5-4 AB and 6-4-2D down 1/2, or 5-4-3 AF to 5-3-1 AF. I use the lower voiced grips often.
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Joe Savage
www.savagejoe.com

Clete Ritta · From: San Antonio, Texas

Don Brown, Sr. · From: New Jersey

Well it looks as if we'll have to disect this one. Since Richard said:

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Got my first decent guitar, a Shobud Pro, in ''72. Two knees. Added two more a month later. Read that Buddy lowered the 6th string to F#. That's the chord I was looking for! That change has been on every guitar since then. Sus 2. Some guys call it a 9th, but it doesn't sound like that to me.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Roger Francis · From: kokomo,Indiana, USA

Here is a prime example of what Tucker is saying, it is the very last chord of the song that the steel is hitting. dont worry about the hissing at the front of this video it goes away after about 5 sec

http://youtu.be/vjIc7fpmP4s

james sluder · From: Tennessee, USA

Thank's a bunch to every one of you for your help,,i really got a lot from each post!

Fret 3 pedals up [ G } > B pedal presed gives me a sus 4

fret 5 pedals down [ D [ relese A pedal hold B down is a sus 2 >>when i pick string 6 at either position !

Steve Cagle · From: Georgia, USA

[quote="Dick Sexton"]Then I had it correct. Correct? Or wrong, if playing it out of context. Correct?

B pedal down would be a:

..Sus4 if played at the 8th fret in the key of "C"
..Sus2 if played at the 5th fret in the key of "D"

Assuming the obvious, Standard Emmons E9th..

So u are still in the same coats.?
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Steve Cagle

Jim Palenscar · From: Oceanside, Calif, USA

The cool thing about the sus chords is that they have elements of the common chords in the key you're in- I use a sus 2 when I get lost in a song as it always seems to sound cool no matter what chord you're playing over Smile

.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Brett Lanier · From: Madison, TN

There’s a nice sus4 chord up 3 frets with just the C pedal.

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

In the pedals-up position, I will often play 5,6 & 7 - the 7th string is an add 2 (think of the very first chord in the Carpenters' 'Close to you') and is a nice 'color' in place of a straight 1,3,5 major.

Pick 5,6,7 then 5,6,8 repeatedly.

That's another sus chord but, having said that, the suspended 4th resolving to the major 3rd is by far the most common (and effective, if played on steel! Smile

)
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

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