Chords
Ab Suspended 2
Ab · Bb · Eb
Suspended second — the third replaced by a second, leaving the chord open and unresolved.
Ab Suspended 2
Ab · Bb · Eb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Ab3 · Bb3 · Eb4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Ab Suspended 2 (Absus2) contains the notes Ab · Bb · Eb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built
Inversions
An inversion of Ab Suspended 2 puts a chord tone other than Ab in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales Ab Suspended 2 belongs to.
In which keys
Ab Suspended 2 is diatonic to 10 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
Ab Suspended 2 fits inside these scales, each built on Ab.
- Ab Major PentatonicAb · Bb · C · Eb · F
- Ab Major BluesAb · Bb · Cb · C · Eb · F
- Ab MajorAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · G
- Ab MinorAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb
- Ab Melodic MinorAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · G
- Ab Harmonic MinorAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · G
- Ab DorianAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab LydianAb · Bb · C · D · Eb · F · G
Understanding the Ab Suspended 2 chord
Names and symbols
Absus2 is the chord symbol for Ab Suspended 2.
sus on its own means sus4, and 7sus means 7sus4. sus2 is sometimes written add9(no3), which names the same notes from another angle.
Ab Suspended 2 and G# Suspended 2 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. G# Suspended 2
How it is built
On Ab it is Ab · Bb · Eb: 1P · 2M · 5P. The third is gone, so the chord has no quality; the second sits in its place, a whole step above the root.
How it is used
Traditionally a suspension resolves — the second falls to the third. In modern pop and folk it very often does not, and the unresolved sound becomes the texture. Open-string guitar voicings fall into sus2 shapes almost by accident, which is much of why the sound is so associated with acoustic writing.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Absus2?
- Absus2 contains Ab · Bb · Eb. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- What is the difference between sus2 and sus4?
- Which note replaces the third. Sus2 uses the second, sus4 the fourth. Sus2 sounds open and airy; sus4 sounds more tense and more like it wants to resolve.
- Is a sus2 chord major or minor?
- Neither — it has no third, which is exactly what makes it useful as a pivot or a texture.
- What notes are in the Ab Suspended 2 chord?
- The Ab Suspended 2 chord contains the notes Ab · Bb · Eb: the root Ab with the intervals 1P, 2M, 5P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Ab, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the Ab Suspended 2 chord?
- Measured from Ab, the Ab Suspended 2 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 2M, 5P. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.