Suspended and add9 chords

Suspended chords replace the third with its neighbour, leaving the chord neither major nor minor. Add9 chords add a shimmering ninth on top of a major triad. All four are easy to play and add movement to simple chords.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• State the formulas for sus2, sus4 and add9.
• Play Asus2, Asus4, Dsus2, Dsus4 and Cadd9.
• Use a sus chord to decorate a plain chord.

Suspended chords replace the third with a neighbouring note.

• sus2: 1 2 5. The third is replaced by the second. Asus2 = A B E.
• sus4: 1 4 5. The third is replaced by the fourth. Asus4 = A D E.

Without a third, the chord is neither major nor minor. It sounds open and a bit unresolved. A sus4 often wants to resolve back to the major chord (Asus4 to A), which is called a suspension.

Add9 chords add the ninth to a triad but not the seventh. The ninth is the second note of the scale, one octave higher. Cadd9 = C E G D. It sounds like a major chord with extra shimmer.

All of these are easy to find on the guitar from shapes you already know. Move one finger and you have a new chord.

A to Asus4 to A.

1. Play A major (x02220). The third, C♯, is the note on the B string, fret 2.
2. Move that note up one fret to fret 3 (pinky). The C♯ became D: Asus4.
3. Play it for two beats, then move back to A. The tension resolves.

Dsus2 and Dsus4. From D (xx0232), lift the finger off the e string so it rings open for Dsus2 (xx0230), or move that finger from fret 2 to fret 3 on the e string for Dsus4 (xx0233).

Try decorating a bar of D: D, Dsus4, D, Dsus2. The chord stays the same, but the sound moves.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Move one finger

  4 min

  1. Play A major (x02220). Move the finger on the B string from fret 2 to fret 3 and back: A to Asus4 to A.
  2. From A, lift the finger on the B string so it rings open: that is Asus2.
  3. Do the same on D: D to Dsus2 to D to Dsus4.

  You have it when

  • You can move smoothly between the major chord and its sus versions.
  I practised this one

• 2.C and Cadd9

  4 min

  1. Play C. Now play Cadd9 (x32030): lift the first finger off the B string and place the pinky on the B string, fret 3.
  2. Alternate C and Cadd9 every two beats.
  3. Then alternate Cadd9 and G.

  You have it when

  • You can alternate C and Cadd9 at 60 BPM.
  I practised this one

• 3.Decorate a chord

  4 min · 60 → 80 BPM

  1. Play the progression D, A, G for four beats each.
  2. On each D bar, play D for two beats, then Dsus4, then D.
  3. Loop it for two minutes.

  You have it when

  • The decoration sounds like movement in a steady progression.
  I practised this one

Start at 60 BPM with four beats per chord. These chords sound best when you let them ring, so avoid hurrying.

• Thinking a sus chord is major or minor. A sus chord has no third, so it is neither. Its identity comes from the 2nd or 4th.
• Leaving the sus chord hanging. A sus4 often wants to resolve to the major chord. Try playing it just before the plain chord.
• Confusing add9 with a ninth chord. An add9 chord has no seventh: it is a triad plus the ninth.

Almost every acoustic guitar song uses these chords to keep a simple progression moving. Try decorating the D in Sweet Home Alabama or the C in Let It Be.

Try it in: Sweet Home Alabama (chord version), Let It Be.

Short version (10 minutes)

Alternate A, Asus4 and Asus2 for three minutes.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises, then play a song from the library and add a sus chord to one chord of your choice.

• Sus2: 1 2 5. Sus4: 1 4 5. Add9: 1 3 5 9.
• Sus chords replace the third.
• Sus4 often resolves to the major chord.
• Add9 is a triad plus the ninth, with no seventh.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I can state the formulas for sus2, sus4 and add9.
• I can play at least four of these chords.
• I can use a sus chord to decorate a plain chord.