How To Play Suspended Triads On Guitar
by Simon Candy
In this video, you learn all about suspended triads for guitar, a chord type that will add emotion and tension to your playing!
Whether you're new to fingerstyle or an experienced guitarist, learning suspended triads is a great way to expand your chord repertoire and make your music sound more dynamic.
We’ll dive deep into suspended triads covering both suspended 2 triads and suspended 4 triads, two of the most essential suspended chord shapes that every guitarist should know.
These chords are perfect for adding tension and creating smooth, interesting chord progressions.
You’ll learn how to play suspended chords and how to apply them in various musical contexts.
From classic rock to modern pop and jazz, suspended triads can be used in any genre to bring a fresh, new sound to your guitar playing.
Watch the video below to learn more:
Suspended Triads
The following are a few ways you can use suspended triads on guitar to create amazing music, along with examples from popular songs that feature them.
Don’t forget to check out the video above for demonstrations of each example and a detailed breakdown and explanation.
1. Vamps
Suspended triads can make a one chord vamp sound much more interesting and sophisticated.
Check out the example below to hear the effect of using suspended triads over the top of an A major chord.
(i)
The first arrangement is arpeggiating both the A major triad and the suspended 2 and suspended 4 versions of this chord:
(ii)
This next example is similar to the first, but uses triads on the next string set down, as well as pedalling the low A string to fill out the sound:
2. Progressions
Suspended triads are great for adding movement and creating interest across chord progressions.
The following is an example of doing exactly this with suspended triads over a chord progression in the key of A:
3. Songs
• Free Falling: Tom Petty
The first example of suspended triads in action is in “Free Falling” by Tom Petty.
Here you have suspensions of the E, A and B chords that fit nicely on top of the progression:
• Comfortably Numb: Pink Floyd
The second example is a beautiful line played over the top of the chords of the chorus to “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd.
In this example, the triads are arpeggiated:
• Roxanne: The Police
The third example is the verse progression from the song “Roxanne” by The Police.
It is mostly using major and minor triads, with suspended triads coming in at the end of the progression for a cool sound:
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