Chords
Ab Suspended 4
Ab · Db · Eb
Suspended fourth — the third replaced by a fourth, a semitone above where it wants to land.
Also written Absus
Ab Suspended 4
Ab · Db · Eb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Ab3 · Db4 · Eb4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Ab Suspended 4 (Absus4) contains the notes Ab · Db · Eb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built
Inversions
An inversion of Ab Suspended 4 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 4 belongs to.
In which keys
Ab Suspended 4 is diatonic to 10 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
Ab Suspended 4 fits inside these scales, each built on Ab.
- Ab Minor PentatonicAb · Cb · Db · Eb · Gb
- 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 MixolydianAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb
- Ab Harmonic MajorAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · Fb · G
Understanding the Ab Suspended 4 chord
Names and symbols
Absus4 is the chord symbol for Ab Suspended 4; it is also written Absus.
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 4 and G# Suspended 4 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. G# Suspended 4
How it is built
On Ab it is Ab · Db · Eb: 1P · 4P · 5P. The fourth sits one semitone above the major third it displaced, which is why the ear hears it as leaning rather than resting.
How it is used
The classic gesture is sus4 resolving to the plain triad — the fourth falling to the third. It is the sound of a cadence being delayed, and it works equally well in a hymn, in The Who, and in a worship band.
On a dominant chord the same substitution gives 7sus4, which softens the dominant's pull without removing it.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Absus4?
- Absus4 contains Ab · Db · Eb. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- Does a sus4 chord have to resolve?
- Classically yes, with the fourth falling to the third. In pop and rock it often stays unresolved as a colour in its own right.
- Is a sus4 chord major or minor?
- Neither. Replacing the third removes the chord's quality entirely.
- What notes are in the Ab Suspended 4 chord?
- The Ab Suspended 4 chord contains the notes Ab · Db · Eb: the root Ab with the intervals 1P, 4P, 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 4 chord?
- Measured from Ab, the Ab Suspended 4 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 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.