How to incorporate Sus chords

[malin]

I'm messing on my guitar making weird chord progressions and I found a little something

 

Asus4

Dm9

G6sus4

Dm13

Am7

G

Fsus2

G5

Am7

D6sus2

Fmaj9

 

-0--0--0--5--------------------7----------------

-5--6--3--0--------------------10--8-----------

-7--5--5--5---5---4--0--0--5--9---9------------

-7--7--5--3---5---5--3--5--5--7---7------------

----5-----5---7---5--3--5--7------8------------

--------------5---3--1--3--5--------------------

 

Now can we just put them anywhere or they sound better between certain chords

[Krank'N]

For me, the suspended chords ( ex. C to Csus to C etc) is basic RnR rhythm. The chord progression relys on the resolution sus to major. Songs like the Stones "Brown sugar" or "Unchained " by Van Halen use this motif as do countless others.

[JonR]

You can put them anywhere. You can judge for yourself which changes - say out of the sequence you posted - work better than others.

 

A couple of tips:

 

1. Take any chord sequence you know, and try it adding sus2 or sus4 to all the chords. (Not all may work, but remember those that do.)

 

2. When composing a sequence try using the same type of extension on each chord, to help it hang together. (The Polce "Every Breath You Take" is a classic example - every chord, major or minor, is an add9.)

 

3. Try running a sequence, and adding the same note to all the chords. How far can you make that work?

Eg, C-G-Am-F. What does it sound like to add (say) a D to all the chords? Or a B?

 

 

But in general, experiment as you are doing, and make a mental note of the sounds that work.

[Poparad]

Two of those chords I would label differently:

 

 

G6sus4 - This will sound a lot more like Cadd9, even though the notes are the same. Those notes contain a complete C major triad, plus the 9th, which makes it very strongly sound like a C chord, whereas it only contains two notes of a G chord, and even then, the E and D next to each other makes even that less clear.

 

D6sus2 - This is just Asus2. There isn't a D in it anywhere.

 

 

 

But yes, you can pretty much use them anywhere. There are certain chords in a key that you have to be careful with, such as the iii chord and IV chord. For the iii chord, there is no natural 2, but rather a b2 (since that's a spot in the key where there's a half step). For the IV chord, the 4 in a sus4 isn't the same as it would be on any of the other chords. At that spot, again due to one of the half steps in the key, the 4th is raised, so it would be a #4. That's still a cool sound, though. In this key (C major), it would be a Fsus#4 chord. Unusual, but very usable.

[malin]

Thank you once again guys!