GUITAR
DEMYSTIFYING SUS CHORDS | David Harsh
Have you ever seen the abbreviation “ Sus ” in a chart and thought , “ What does that actually mean ?” Today we ’ re going to talk about … suspensions with music on the guitar .
I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it ’ s available . This way , you ’ ll see and hear everything demonstrated . You can find the video right here : www . GuitarSuccess4U . com / Sus .
If you ’ ve ever seen a suspenseful movie , or if you ’ ve ever had the unfortunate experience of having an account suspended , or your driver ’ s license suspended , you have experienced suspense .
But what do all of these scenarios have in common ? They are all temporary . A suspenseful movie can ’ t be suspenseful the entire time – it just wouldn ’ t work . A suspended account is usually restored to good standing when the balance is paid , and a suspended driver ’ s license can eventually be reinstated .
So , I ’ m not talking about something being permanently taken away – I ’ m talking about something being temporarily suspended , and eventually – wait for it – resolved .
So , let ’ s take a moment to discuss what suspensions can look and sound like on the guitar , and why they ’ re important .
So , when we see the term “ sus ” in a chart , that ’ s short for a SUSpended chord .
First of all , the most common chord we ’ ll find suspensions for is going to be on the Dominant , the V chord in a Major key . And second of all , the most common type of suspension or “ sus ” chord we ’ re going to experience is the “ sus4 .”
We could go in all sorts of additional directions , but for now , let ’ s keep things pretty simple .
So , let ’ s say we ’ re in the key of G Major , a very guitar-friendly key . The Dominant or V chord in G is D . But today , we ’ re not just going to play it as a D Major chord , we ’ re going to play it as a Dsus4 chord .
Now , my background in music began with a classical degree , which included several years of collegiate music theory , so I ’ m going to offer you an additional level of musicality here . It involves a three-word process . That process is : “ Preparation ,” “ Suspension ,” and “ Resolution .”
Because , if we think about it , it ’ s nice to be able to prepare ourselves for suspense , so we can anticipate it just a bit . The plot thickens in a movie . We get a warning notice that our account is about to be suspended . The cop car behind us fires up the lights on his roof to let us know we ’ re about to be pulled over , which could lead to a suspended license . 72 April 2024 Subscribe for Free ...