A flat Suspended Second Chord (A♭sus2)

1Composition: what it contains

A♭ – B♭ – E♭

Symbol

A♭sus2

Also written

A♭sus2, A♭2

Formula

1 2 5

Same sound as

G♯sus2

2Appearance: diagrams and sound

On the guitar

On the ukulele

On the piano

On the staff

On bass and as an arpeggio

3Indications: what it is used for

Very common in pop, rock, worship music, folk and ambient, often as a colour on the I, IV or V chord or as a decorative movement from the major chord (major–sus2–major). It fits modal music where you do not want to commit to a major or minor third. Because it consists of root, second and fifth, it is also an inversion of a sus4 chord built on the fifth. In jazz it is used as a quartal, open-sounding voicing.

4Dosage: how to practise it

On guitar, learn the open sus2 shapes and practise alternating them with the major and minor shapes on the same root, then use barre shapes with the second on top. On piano, play root–second–fifth and alternate with the major and minor triad, hands separately at 70 BPM. Then try progressions where every chord is sus2 to hear the floating effect. Five minutes daily of 'hammer-on decorations' from sus2 to major on guitar builds a useful songwriting habit.

5Warnings and common mistakes

Do not confuse sus2 with add9: add9 keeps the third and adds the ninth, while sus2 removes the third entirely. A sus2 chord is also often written as just '2' on some charts. Since sus2 and sus4 can share the same notes (an inversion relationship), make sure the bass note gives the right root. The second does not need to resolve, unlike the classical sus4, but avoid adding a third on top by accident.

6Interactions with chords, scales and keys

Inversions

• Inversion 1 · A♭sus2/B♭ · B♭ – E♭ – A♭ Play
• Inversion 2 · A♭sus2/E♭ · E♭ – A♭ – B♭ Play

Scales to play over A♭sus2

• A flat Major Scale
• G sharp Natural Minor Scale
• A flat Harmonic Minor Scale
• A flat Melodic Minor Scale
• G sharp Dorian Mode
• A flat Lydian Mode
• A flat Mixolydian Mode
• A flat Major Pentatonic Scale
• A flat Major Blues Scale
• A flat Hungarian Minor Scale
• A flat Lydian Dominant Scale
• A flat Bebop Dominant Scale

7Other presentations available

The same chord from every note

Csus2 C♯sus2 Dsus2 E♭sus2 Esus2 Fsus2 F♯sus2 Gsus2 Asus2 B♭sus2 Bsus2

Other chords on A♭

A♭ A♭m A♭dim A♭aug A♭sus4 A♭5 A♭6 A♭m6 A♭7 A♭maj7 A♭m7 A♭m7♭5 A♭dim7 A♭m(maj7) A♭7sus4 A♭add9 A♭m(add9) A♭6/9 A♭9 A♭maj9 A♭m9 A♭11 A♭m11 A♭13 A♭7♭9 A♭7♯9 A♭7♯5 A♭7♭5