EASY GUIDE

This month, Dave Clews keeps us on the edge of our seats with an in-depth exploration of chordal tension and resolution

Dave Clews explores suspended chords

If you’re always looking for ways to add a dash of tension and forward movement to a chord progression, one of the easiest ways to do this is to use suspended chords. Faithful rock fallbacks since the days of John Lennon and The Who – Happy Xmas (War Is Over) and Pinball Wizard are just two famous tunes that make use of a whole sequence of them – suspended chords have more than earned their spurs as properly established songwriting tools in mainstream music. But what are they, exactly?

The idea of suspended chords originally derives from suspensions, a term used to describe notes that hang over into the following chord before eventually resolving to the notes in that second chord – a popular technique in the kind of counterpoint-led classical composition that pre-dates the baroque era. These days though, they’re just as likely to be played straight off the bat, rather than originating from the chord before, and they don’t have to resolve either. After all, the way they make the ear yearn for resolution is a big reason for their success. The tension felt when that resolution doesn’t happen is a useful prop in the songwriter’s toolbox. So, in this month’s we’re going to suspend our disbelief and examine how to build suspended chords, throwing in a couple of examples of how to use them along the way.