BazzLow
ENIT
Module 7 · Lesson 7

Sus chords and power chords

Build suspended and power chords and know how the bass treats them.

Before this lesson: 7.5 Triad shapes on the bass

Show

Remove the 3rd from a chord and you get something open and undecided: neither major nor minor. Two families of chords work this way.

Suspended chords

Suspended chords replace the 3rd. A sus2 is 1 2 5 (C D G); a sus4 is 1 4 5 (C F G). “Csus” alone usually means sus4.

Without a 3rd, a sus chord is neither major nor minor. It sounds open and often resolves to the major or minor triad on the same root: Csus4 → C. The 4 falls to the 3.

Power chords

A power chord (C5) is 1 5, often with the octave: root, 5th, root. With no 3rd, it is again neither major nor minor. It is common in rock, where distortion makes 3rds sound harsh.

RootThirdFifthSeventh2nd, 4th, 6th
Csus2Suspended 2nd
Csus2: chord tones in a 5-fret window starting at fret 2Csus2: C D G.GCDGACDEG2
C D G · 1 2 5
Csus2: C D G.
Csus4Suspended 4th
Csus4: chord tones in a 5-fret window starting at fret 2Csus4: C F G.GCDFGACEG2
C F G · 1 4 5
Csus4: C F G.
C5Power chord
C5: chord tones in a 5-fret window starting at fret 2C5: C G.GCDGACEG2
C G · 1 5
C5: C G.

For the bass

  • Over sus and power chords, the root, the 5th and the octave are always safe.
  • Avoid playing a 3rd over them unless the music clearly wants major or minor.

Spelling: sus4 on F is F B♭ C (not A♯); sus2 on E is E F♯ B.

Try it

Play Csus4 → C arpeggios: C F G → C E G. Hear the 4 “resolve” to the 3.

New terms

Tools

  • Chords for Bass: Every common chord type on all 12 roots, as a 5-fret box for 4- and 5-string bass, with spelled notes and formulas.