Esus2?

There's no such chord :)

What they mean is a chord with notes E-F#-B. That's the 1-2-5 from the E major scale, so they reason that's an E 'sus2' (figuring that a suspended chord replaces the third with whatever follows 'sus')

That's not what 'sus' means though... it means replacing the third with the fourth. Those same tones can be seen as B-E-F#, which is a Bsus chord.

Simplest fingering in open position is:

-0-
-0-
-4-
-4-
-2-
-0-

Oh didn't know that. I just saw it in a tab and have been searching for that chord all over the place :?

This is one thing I've wondered about...and I've seen discussions on this topic on a music theory board or two, but with no definitive answer (opionion seemed to vary by the posters background - jazz vs classical vs pop). Suspensions and retardations are contrapuntal devices, but it's fairly well known what is meant by sus4 and sus2 in a (modern) harmonic sense, that is, chords...however, what I see in publications vary, and I've pondered what I should really use in my own arrangements and lead sheets.

I know by default, Finale (2003) does recognize something like this as a "valid" chord type:

E2

and that's what I see in most of the lead sheets and arrangements we purchase for our church's contemporary service.

With Finale, "sus2" is not an option, and must be added as a "custom" chord type.

In either case, I know that E2 and Esus2 both generally mean "E F# B," but I have no idea if there is some publishing standard or not on how to label it...

There are a few notation books that have attempted to set out standards, but none of them address naming these chords... because as you point out, Doug, there isn't any such thing in traditional analysis - there's either a suspension or a retardation, and they are contrapuntal things rather than chords.

In publishing, I see two camps: book publishers, who do their best to get it right, and magazine publishers, who put some effort into getting it right and then move on to the next issue - they're in a very time-sensitive business. Misnomers like 'sus2' came about in magazines first among the print publishers, and very few book publishers are using it.

What chord standards are out there back up my view...

Colorado College Music Engraving standards - chords

(and a bunch of books that aren't on line)

The notation/engraving software that I'm familiar with doesn't have 'sus2' as a pre-loaded option. However, most high-end software (like Finale, Sibelius, Igor) will let you type in whatever you want.

Okay so what's your opinion of this chord and how would you suggest utilizing it?

Okay so what's your opinion of this chord and how would you suggest utilizing it?

I won't speak for NoteBoat, but I've started using "E2" instead of "Esus2" in my lead sheets and arrangements...

Two reasons:

1) The lead sheets and arrangements we purchase from various publishers all use the "2" notation.
2) Finale has the "2" symbol (as in "E2") pre-loaded, where as if I want to use "sus2," I have to add it manually as an option...which in a way tells me that Finale acknowledges the "2" notation as the preferred symbol.

Noteboat explained it pretty well, there isn't, strictly speaking, any such chord as a sus2.....

But for a simple rule of thumb, take the root note - E for an Esus2, obviously - find the V (fifth) note of that scale...B is the 5th in the key of E.....and form the sus4 chord....

ie, the I, II V of the original root will be the same as the I IV V of the fifth of the original root.....

However, if you look up a tab for, say, "The Needle And The Damage Done," you'll probably see the opening chords tabbed as D and Dsus2 rather than D and Asus4...

and the so-called Dsus2 will be tabbed like this,

E A D G B E
x x 0 2 3 0

rather than the Asus4, which is tabbed like this....

E A D G B E
x 0 2 2 3 0

Both "chords" share the same three notes, A D & E.....

I think the "Sus2" chord has passed into common usage as an attempt to show it's a variation of the original chord (D in "the needle etc") rather than a chord in the key of A...if you play an A sus4 as tabbed above in "Needle" it just doesn't sound right....

:D :D :D

Vic