Originally Posted by: CSchlegel

Originally Posted by: Lao_Tzuwhat is the chord formula and the difference between add chords and sus chords ...

[br][br]Suspended chords do not have a 3rd (major or minor); they SUSPEND the 3rd by "moving it" to a 2nd or 4th.[br][br]Added chords do have a 3rd, IN ADDITION to a 2nd, 4th, 6th; they "add to the chord" as well as having a 3rd.[br][br]Do you understand my reply about how suspensions work in diatonic systems?

Well, to be completely accurate, "suspended chord" is funny term that isn't completely agreed upon in terms of what it means. This is because it is a terminology borrowed from classical music where it means something very different. There a suspension is something that happens across a harmonic movement. If you have one tone held over from one chord to create a dissonance that then resolves downward, you have a suspension. If it resolves upward, it is a retardation. And, lastly, if it is a new non-harmonic tone that is added, then resolved, you have an appoggiatura. Suspensions happen across time, not within a single harmonic structure. [br][br]Jazz and early blues and rock players started calling partial and quartile harmonic structures suspended chords and the name more or less stuck, but it doesn't have a completely standard definition yet. [br][br]And in many cases, it really isn't what they think it is. If, for example, the bass or another instrument is carrying the 3rd, then in the context of the composition you have an add11 or an add13 chord, NOT a sus2 or sus4. Because harmony happens in a composition, not on an instrument by instrument basis. [br][br]And if the chord is being used as part of a harmonic movement, then it is a suspension or retardation or appoggiatura or an acciaccatura or a gruppetto or a neighboring tone or a passing tone, or a grace note, or an escape tone, or something else for which there is already a well-established nomenclature within music theory. [br][br]That isn't to say that there aren't sus-chord harmonic structures or that susX isn't a good name for those chords. There are and they do. But it is a lot rarer than most people think if one actually looks at the full score.

[br]I realize this is a tad pedantic, but folks who want to converse with musicians other than guitarists should be aware of when they are using a terminology that is somewhat instrument specific rather than reflective of music theory writ large.

So, if you have something like: Em | C | Dsus4 D ... that "sus4" isn't properly called a "suspended chord" because it is just a classical suspension, the G is held over from the C as a non-harmonic tone to create dissonance and then resolves downward to the F# in the D Major chord. [br][br]While it certainly serves some utility to call this a "suspended chord" for beginners who want to know what to call each shape they play. At some point, a guitarist should want to move beyond less precise nomenclature. What is happening here is actually much more interesting than the simple playing of a single chord.