I really love Greybeard's chord construction page. Â It's a progressive journey of learning more to realize how little I really know!
Let's look at our open Am chord
string 1 Â ---0--- Â E
string 2 Â ---1--- Â C
string 3 Â ---2--- Â A
string 4 Â ---2--- Â E
string 5 Â ---0--- Â A
string 6 Â ---X--- Â
So that's A-C-E. Â Got it. Â Yet we lift the ring finger and get:
string 1 Â ---0--- Â E
string 2 Â ---0--- Â B
string 3 Â ---2--- Â A
string 4 Â ---2--- Â E
string 5 Â ---0--- Â A
string 6 Â ---X--- Â
or A-C-E-B. Â I know that B is just two frets from the root A so could be called an Asus2 or Aadd9. Â What determines the correct name?
This chord I commonly see noted as a Dsus2 rather than a Dadd9:
string 1 Â ---0--- Â E
string 2 Â ---3--- Â D
string 3 Â ---2--- Â A
string 4 Â ---0--- Â D
string 5 Â ---X--- Â
string 6 Â ---X--- Â
While I see this chord called Cadd9 rather than Csus4:
string 1 Â ---0--- Â E
string 2 Â ---3--- Â D
string 3 Â ---0--- Â G
string 4 Â ---2--- Â E
string 5 Â ---3--- Â C
string 6 Â ---X--- Â
I'm just getting kinda lots in the naming convention of the sus and add chords. Â
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
The use of sus versus add seems to be a matter of preference these days. The system I learned was pretty clear-cut: if you're replacing the 3rd, it's a sus chord; if the 3rd remains, it's an add chord.
All the examples you give adhere to that rule -- in the Am, you're replacing the 3rd (C) with the 2nd (B), so it's sus2; in the D chord, you're replacing the 3rd (F#) with the 2nd (E), so it's also sus2; in the last example, you still have the 3rd (E), and you're ADDING the D, so it's an add9.
Alas, many transcribers these days aren't following those rules, so you'll sometimes see the symbols reversed. That doesn't make 'em right :)
Tom
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
That is a very simple rule to follow that even I shall remember it! I'm so happy now!
Here is another chord I kinda messed with over the months. When I was trying to incorporate a full barre F chord into my playing (as opposed to the 4 string mini F) I often jumped the gun when switching and kinda like the sound. I'd play open C like this:
string 1 ---0--- E
string 2 ---1--- C
string 3 ---0--- G
string 4 ---2--- E
string 5 ---3--- C
string 6 ---X---
then cheat by putting my pinky down on the F note 4th string like this just before switching to the full barre F:
string 1 ---0--- E
string 2 ---1--- C
string 3 ---0--- G
string 4 ---3--- F
string 5 ---3--- C
string 6 ---X---
then hit the full barre F. Before your answer to this question I was mentally calling it a Csus4. But on the example above we have the normal C-E-G with the F added so we'd get Cadd4?
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
You got it - Cadd4
Peace
Just to make it more confusing :) the C add 4 chord creates a suspension -- in harmony, that's a non-chordal tone that becomes a chordal tone when the chord change occurs.
Tom
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
