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