Absus2 Ab suspended second chord
- Notes
- Ab Bb Eb
- Formula
- 1 2 5
- Semitones
- 0 2 7 above the root
- Also written
- G#sus2 (G# A# D#)
Ab to Bb is a major second (2 semitones), Bb to Eb is a perfect fourth (5 semitones). The third is replaced by the second (Bb), so the chord is neither major nor minor. The same three keys with Eb in the bass read as Ebsus4.
Absus2 on the piano
Root position from Ab4: Ab4, Bb4, Eb5. Middle C is C4.
Absus2 on the guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has Ab as its lowest note.
x 11 13 13 11 11 (low E to high e)
Sounds Ab3 Eb4 Ab4 Bb4 Eb5
The barre shapes are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play suspended second chords on other roots.
Inversions of Absus2
An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | Ab Bb Eb | Absus2 | |
| 1st inversion | Bb Eb Ab | Bb7sus4 (also read as Absus2/Bb) | |
| 2nd inversion | Eb Ab Bb | Ebsus4 (also read as Absus2/Eb) |
Where Absus2 fits
A sus chord has no third, so it is neither major nor minor and has no fixed place in a key. In Absus2 the second, Bb, usually rises to the major or minor third or falls back to the root Ab; it is also often left unresolved as a colour, especially on guitar.