PhysMuse

Introduction

In this tutorial we shall look at the suspended fourth chords and how they are built. We will also explore what they can add to your music. There is also the suspended second chord that will be discussed also in the silver members tutorial. If you wish to learn more about the suspended second chord please consider signing up to silver membership.

Some common modern day examples are ‘Pinball Wizard’ by the Who that uses suspended fourths resolved to major chords. Other examples are songs like ‘Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty, ‘More than a Feeling’ by Boston, etc. there are many, many examples and you have probably heard the sound innumerable times.

Suspended fourth chords — commonly labeled sus4 — are among the simplest yet most expressive tools in modern harmony. They replace the third of a chord with the fourth, creating a sound that feels open, unresolved, and emotionally charged.

What are suspended chords?

As we have seen in earlier tutorials regarding triad construction in traditional harmony, chords are built in thirds:

• A major chord = root + major third + perfect fifth
• A minor chord = root + minor third + perfect fifth

Suspended fourth chords remove the third and replace it with either:

• sus4 – add a perfect fourth instead of the third

This “suspends” the chord’s identity — it’s neither major nor minor — and creates tension that demands resolution.

The presence of a suspension is indicated by the insertion of the word sus and the interval that replaces the third

• sus⁴

So a D suspended fourth chord would be indicated thus

Dsus⁴

This would be called D sus four.

The construction of suspended chords

As we have seen major and minor triads are created by stacking thirds – we shall see examples here using D as our root

Suspended fourth

So as you can see the construction of these suspended chords is quite straightforward.

Why Use Suspended Chords?

Suspended chords serve several harmonic and emotional functions:

Delay Resolution

• Suspended chords postpone the arrival of the third, creating anticipation.
• Often used before resolving to a major or minor chord (e.g., Dsus4 → D).

Add Color and Texture

• They soften rigid progressions and add mystery or space.
• Great for ambient, cinematic, and pop textures.

Create Movement

• Suspended chords can oscillate (Dsus4 ↔ D), adding motion without changing root.
• Useful in intros, interludes, and breakdowns.

Neutral Emotional Tone

• Because they lack a third, suspended chords feel emotionally ambiguous.
• Perfect for moments that need tension without commitment.

Final Thoughts

As you can see there are many uses for suspended chords. They can add variation and colour to standard chord progressions allowing us to express ourselves in new, exciting ways. To find out more about suspended second chords and expand upon this discussion of suspended fourth chords please consider signing up to silver membership.

Silver membership also allows access to more complete tutorials than those available to non-members and downloadable pdf versions of the full tutorials and numerous reference sheets to allow you to build your own composers toolkit.