Chords
A# Suspended 2
A# · B# · E#
Suspended second — the third replaced by a second, leaving the chord open and unresolved.
A# Suspended 2
A# · B# · E#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | A#3 · B#4 · E#4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
A# Suspended 2 (A#sus2) contains the notes A# · B# · E#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built
Inversions
An inversion of A# Suspended 2 puts a chord tone other than A# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales A# Suspended 2 belongs to.
In which keys
A# Suspended 2 is diatonic to 10 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
A# Suspended 2 fits inside these scales, each built on A#.
- A# MinorA# · B# · C# · D# · E# · F# · G#
- A# EgyptianA# · B# · D# · E# · G#
- A# HirajoshiA# · B# · C# · E# · F#
Understanding the A# Suspended 2 chord
Names and symbols
A#sus2 is the chord symbol for A# 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.
A# Suspended 2 and Bb Suspended 2 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Bb Suspended 2
How it is built
On A# it is A# · B# · E#: 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 A#sus2?
- A#sus2 contains A# · B# · E#. 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 A# Suspended 2 chord?
- The A# Suspended 2 chord contains the notes A# · B# · E#: the root A# 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 A#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the A# Suspended 2 chord?
- Measured from A#, the A# 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.