Suspended chord notation for piano

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blakesharette
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:32 pm
Sibelius Version: Ultimate
Operating System: Mac

Post by blakesharette » Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:41 pm

Hi all,

For some reason, I'm drawing a blank on what the best practice is to notate a suspended chord. The chord is a half-note length and the middle note of the chord resolves from a B flat to an A. I realize this is more of a music theory notation question rather than a Sibelius software question, but I'm hoping to find someone who knows.

I attached a picture of how I did it, and it looks wrong to me for some reason. Any recommendations?
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andyg
Posts: 1727
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:55 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.1.3 and 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by andyg » Wed Dec 23, 2020 11:45 pm

The notation itself is clear, no problems in the player knowing what to do.

If you're asking how to describe the chord, it's simply an Fsus4, resolving to F.

mathygreen
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:33 pm
Sibelius Version: 8.0
Operating System: Windows

Post by mathygreen » Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:45 pm

There are two commonly used types of suspended chords. They are the sus4 and the sus2 chords. For these chords, the major or minor third is omitted and replaced with either a perfect fourth or a major second. The perfect fourth is more common.

Whenever you come across a sus4 chord, instead of playing the root, major third and perfect fifth (1 – 3 – 5), play the root, perfect fourth and perfect fifth (1 – 4 – 5). For example, the notes that form C major are C – E – G. Instead of E, play F and this gives you a Csus4 chord, C – F – G. In other words, raise the middle note by a half step.

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