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