7sus4 Chord
A dominant seventh with the third swapped for a fourth: C, F, G and B flat. Removing the third removes the tritone with it, so the chord keeps the forward motion of a dominant and loses the urgency.
- 4 notes
- 1 4 5 b7
- open motion
which styles use it
- Gospel
- Soul & R&B
- Deep house
- Jazz
Which notes are in a 7sus4?
The root, the fourth, the fifth and the flattened seventh. In C: C, F, G and B flat.
- C, the root
- F, the fourth, standing where the third belongs
- G, the fifth
- B flat, the minor seventh
Why can it sit still when a dominant seventh cannot?
Because the engine is missing. In a dominant seventh the third and the seventh sit six half steps apart, and that tritone is what makes the chord lean. Take the third out and the tritone goes with it, while the flattened seventh stays.
What is left is a chord that still points forward, because the seventh does, but no longer insists. That is why a 7sus4 can hold under a whole verse where a plain 7 would have become unbearable after two bars.
Where do you find it?
On the fifth degree, in place of the dominant, whenever the music wants motion without a shove. Gospel and soul lean on it heavily, deep house sits on one for minutes at a time, and modal jazz uses it as a chord to play over rather than a chord to leave.
There is a second way to get one: play a minor seventh chord and put a note a fourth below it in the bass. Gm7 over C is C, F, G and B flat, which is a C7sus4 with a different name. See slash chords and pedal point.
7sus4 or 7?
Both are built on the fifth degree and both have the flattened seventh. Only the third differs.
- C7sus4 (C F G Bb) - No third, no tritone. Moves forward and can wait indefinitely.
- C7 (C E G Bb) - The third is back and the tritone with it. Now the chord has a deadline.
- C7sus4 to C7 to F - Both resolutions in a row: first the F falls to E, then the whole chord lands.
Common mistakes
- Calling it unresolved
It is only unresolved if you treat the fourth as a suspension. Used as a colour it is a complete chord.
- Adding the third anyway
Put the E back in and the fourth turns into a clash against it rather than a substitute for it. Choose one of the two.